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Emma Bates feels like she was robbed of a monumental victory at a “World Major” marathon because Ruth Chepngetich was probably cheating. The American track and field star is sick of the broken system.
This kind of thing seems to happen every few years, if not even more often, and nothing changes.
Bates is the latest track and field athlete to speak out against the sport in wake of yet another blood doping scandal. She lost to Ruth Chepngetich at Chicago in 2021.
Ruth Chepngetich was likely doping.
Before we go any further, lets quickly recap the current situation involving Chepngetich. The 30-year-old Kenyan won a gold medal at the 2019 World Championships and three times at the Chicago Marathon in 2021, 2022 and 2023. She became the first woman to break the 2:11 and 2:10 barriers in the marathon and *currently holds the world record* over 26.2 miles at 2:09:56 in 2024.
The asterisks are there for a reason.
Chepngetich’s historic results are forever tainted because of a suspicious drug test. Her blood sample from March 14 showed approximately 3,800 ng/mL of Hydrochlorothiazide in her system.
Hydrochlorothiazide is a diuretic used to increase the excretion of water and salt from the body through the kidneys. It is often used to hide the presence of other banned substances.
World Athletics sets the legal limit for Hydrochlorothiazide at 20ng/mL. Ruth Chepngetich’s sample popped more than 190 times that amount so she is provisionally suspended from track and field competition because of the alarming result.
As a result, every single one of her wins — including the world record — will forever be tarnished.
Track and field athletes can’t keep up.
Emily Sisson was the first American to respond to the Chepngetich news. She was and is at a major disadvantage as a clean competitor. Her body is slowly breaking down while she tries to keep up.
Bates feels similar.
The 33-year-old long distance runner lost to Chepngetich at the Chicago Marathon in 2021. To find out it was not a legit result because of this recent drug testing scandal was devestating.
Emma Bates questioned the legitimacy of the sport as a whole in response to the news.
Emma Bates is calling for change.
Her suggestion on how to solve the issue of doping in track and field is to take a holistic approach. Take money from athletes who are caught cheating. Stop inviting athletes who associate with suspicious people.
“There are few incentives for athletes not to cut corners in our sport when they face little to no impact on the races that have already been run,” she said. “For the most part these dirty athletes keep the prize money, the appearance fees, their agents keep their 15% cut and the races keep inviting the fastest to join the pro-fields, regardless of who these athletes choose to affiliate with.”
Bates thinks the only way to make change is to “look at the whole picture.” If there is a “consistent pattern of behavior,” nip it in the bud before that pattern can continue.