Minutes before the start of Sunday’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon, the NBC5 broadcast turned to the topic hanging over the race, the doping suspension of Ruth Chepngetich. On air, coach Ed Eyestone didn’t mince words.
“We need to have more out-of-competition testing. It does work when it happens properly,” Eyestone said. “Also, there needs to be heavier penalties. I’m all in favor of the death penalty suspension from all competition if you test positive. One and done, that’s the way it should be.
“And then also these athletes aren’t operating in a vacuum. They have coaches, they have agents, they have mentors. These people are leading them astray. And if we have athletes that are testing positive from certain systems, those managers should also be disqualified.”
Chepngetich, who last year became the first woman to break 2:10 in the marathon, was provisionally suspended in April after testing positive for hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), a banned diuretic and masking agent.
The Athletics Integrity Unit confirmed that her March 6 sample contained HCTZ far above the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) threshold. The Kenyan athlete accepted a provisional suspension while her case proceeds before a disciplinary tribunal.
The scandal cast a shadow over the same race where she made history a year earlier. It also revived scrutiny of her agent Federico Rosa, whose management group has been tied to multiple doping cases over the past decade.
Five of Rosa’s former clients who have won World Marathon Majors titles, including Jemima Sumgong and Asbel Kiprop, have served bans. Rosa, who represents current Chicago contender Jacob Kiplimo, was acquitted in a 2016 Kenyan doping-related case but remains a controversial figure in elite running.
A two-time Olympian and longtime head coach at BYU, Eyestone has guided top Americans Conner Mantz and Clayton Young to international success.
His stance for lifetime bans, what he called a “death penalty suspension,” goes further than current WADA rules, which typically prescribe two- or four-year sanctions depending on the substance and circumstances.
While his “one and done” approach would face legal and logistical hurdles under current anti-doping frameworks, Eyestone’s blunt comments reflect a frustration shared by many coaches and clean sport advocates as doping cases continue to pile up.
Chepngetich’s case remains unresolved. For now, her record-breaking 2:09:59 from last year’s Chicago Marathon still stands, but the conversation around how the sport polices itself has rarely sounded louder.
