borkena
December 12,2016
A win that comes after a disappointment is still a win – perhaps sweet one. A year after the tragic bombing during the 2013 Boston Marathon, Buzunesh Deba of Ethiopia won woman’s Boston Marathon with what became now the fastest time in women’s Marathon in 121 years history of Boston Marathon. She finished the distance in 2 hours , 19 minutes and 59 seconds.
Source: www.competitor.com
But in 2014, it didn’t seem that Buzunesh Deba was winner of the race. Well over two years after the event, the organizing committee of Boston Marathon named her as the rightful winner of the 2014 Women’s Marathon in Boston, according to the Associated Press’report. Back then, Kenyan Athlete Rita Jeptoo was declared winner of the women title in the event.
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Buzunesh is quoted by the Associated Press as saying “I feel great and really happy being named the 2014 Boston Marathon champion, the most prestigious marathon in the world, and I encourage all concerned stakeholders to work on a clean sport”
She lives in New York with her husband.
Why is Buzunesh declared winner now?
Because Rita Jeptoo was stripped of the title on grounds of doping. Apart from loosing the title, she is banned from international competition for four years.
“The 35-year-old tested positive for EPO in a September 2014 sample given during training for the Chicago Marathon. She’s since been stripped of the 2014 Chicago title as well,” reported The Associated Press.
Rita apparently collected a total of $175,000 US in prize and bonus for setting course record. Boston Athletic Association is trying to recover it. It is the amount that should have been claimed by the rightful winner, Buzunesh Beba.
To read Associated Press report, click here