Faith Chepkoech celebrates as she crosses the finish line at the Beach to Beacon 10K road race in Cape Elizabeth on Aug 3. Chepkoech on Thursday was stripped of her title for violating World Athletics Anti-Doping rules. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Faith Chepkoech of Kenya was stripped of her 2024 Beach to Beacon women’s title after she admitted to violating international anti-doping rules earlier this month.

Chepkoech, who finished the 10-kilometer race in Cape Elizabeth in just over 32 minutes, tested positive for recombinant erythropoietin, or EPO, according to the Athletics Integrity Unit, an independent agency that oversees the implementation of World Athletics’ anti-doping rules.

EPO is a hormone that is naturally produced in the kidneys and stimulates the production of red blood cells, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Chepkoech provided a urine sample on July 26, about a week before Beach to Beacon. The sample was tested on Sept. 4 at a laboratory in Cologne, Germany, where it was found to contain a synthetic version of EPO, the integrity unit said.

Later, in an interview with members of the integrity unit, Chepkoech claimed that “she had been injected with an unknown substance by an unknown individual on 20 July 2024,” and admitted to violating the anti-doping rules, the unit said in its decision.

Chepkoech formally admitted in writing on Sunday that she had violated the rules, the unit said.

In the wake of Chepkoech’s disqualification, Edna Kiplagat, a Kenyan runner who initially finished in second place, was declared the winner of this year’s women’s competition.

Angie Helton, a spokesperson for the race, said Kiplagat and other women’s award winners were notified via email earlier Thursday and would be mailed checks to make up the difference between their original and new cash awards.

David Backer, president of the race, said his team will reallocate prize money “upon our receipt of the $10,000 of prize money that the race paid to Ms. Chepkoech.”

“We have been informed that the prize money will be voluntarily returned to us shortly,” Backer said in a statement.

Faith Chepkoech celebrates after crossing the finish line in first place at the TD Beach to Beacon 10K at Fort Williams Park on Saturday. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

A ‘CAT-AND-MOUSE GAME’

Reached by phone Thursday evening, Backer said Chepkoech was tested shortly after completing the race, but her results from the in-competition test came back negative. He said a handful of competitors are randomly selected for testing based on their finishing place, in line with international standards.

Backer said EPO breaks down quickly in the body, usually in just a few days, which can make testing for its presence difficult. That also makes it a “doping mechanism of choice” for many cheating athletes, he said.

Chepkoech gave the sample that tested positive for EPO in late July, but “by the time she got to Beach to Beacon eight days later, it wasn’t detected,” Backer said.

He said there is an inherent “cat-and-mouse game” between testing agencies and cheating athletes, which redundant testing helps alleviate.

“I assume that they may have had some reason to select her for out-of-competition testing,” Backer said. “Because out-of-competition testing is not random. That is by design.”

The integrity unit suspended Chepkoech from competing for three years, starting Sept. 6. Typically, athletes found to violate the doping rules are given a minimum four-year suspension, but the integrity unit offers a one-year reduction for athletes who admit fault and accept sanctions.

Backer said Chepkoech’s suspension demonstrates that the anti-doping system is working as it should, and it does not reflect poorly on the fairness of the Cape Elizabeth race.

“This is all an indication that there should be some sense of confidence in future races,” Backer said. “It’s not perfect. There are always going to be cheaters in any aspect of life who will get away with cheating…. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be doing everything we can to catch the people who are cheating.”