The rightful winner of the 2014 Boston Marathon is still waiting for the $100,000 prize to be paid to her....CONTINUE READING
Buzunesh Deba came in second on the day of the race but was awarded the title of winner two years later when repeated doping offender Rita Jeptoo was found to have used performance enhancing drugs.
Now eight years since she was told of her victory, Deba is still waiting for the correct sum of money to be paid to her, according to a
Thanks to her second place finish, Deba received $25,000, a quarter of what was paid to the winner. The $75,000 still has not been paid by the Boston Athletic Association.
The main reason for the non-payment is allegedly Jeptoo’s refusal to give her winnings back.
In an official statement, the BAA said that ‘the matter is still ongoing.’
Deba told the Journal that the onus is on the BAA to pay her her rightful winnings and that Jeptoo’s repayment is irrelevant to her.
Buzunesh Deba came in second on the day of the race but was awarded the title of winner two years later when repeated doping offender Rita Jeptoo was found to have used performance enhancing drugsCONTINUE READING>>
According to the Boston Athletic Association, Rita Jeptoo has not yet returned the $100,000 prize money she received in 2014
Deba’s husband and coach, Worku Beyi, said in 2017 they are talking to BAA officials about the prize money, ‘but it is not 100 percent,’ the couple are now taking time away from the sport as they start a familyCONTINUE READING>>
The Ethopian star runner has taken time away from the sport in order to start a family.
Deba described seeing Jeptoo not feeling tired after the marathon. It was four months later when she failed a tested, testing positive for EPO.
The following investigation by the International Court of Arbitration in Sport found that there had been evidence of doping in Jeptoo’s pre-2014 marathon sample.
Jeptoo, a Kenyan native, was subjected to four years of sanctions.
Jeptoo, whose 2006 and 2013 victories remain unchallenged, claimed $150,000 for the victory and an additional $25,000 for setting a course record.
Both legally belong to Deba, whose time of 2 hours, 19 minutes, 59 seconds remains the fastest in Boston Marathon historyCONTINUE READING>>
The BAA’s lack of payment to Deba is in line with World Athletics’ guidelines which state that a new payment is paid ‘only if and when all the forfeited prize money has been repaid by the Ineligible Athlete to the relevant person or entity.’
However, the BAA could volunteer the payment to Deba. The Wall Street Journal report indicates that the BAA has assets totaling around $30 million.
Jeptoo joined Rosie Ruiz, who was caught cutting the course in 1980, as the only people to be disqualified from the Boston Marathon after breaking the tape on Boylston Street.
‘She took my chance,’ Deba said in 2017 after returning to Boston, where she has also finished third and seventh. ‘I lost so many things.’
In the year after the finish line explosions that killed three people and wounded hundreds more, Jeptoo herself was already an afterthought, coming in just minutes before Meb Keflezighi claimed the first American victory in the men’s race since 1983.
As The Star-Spangled Banner played over Boylston Street, Jeptoo’s third win — even in a course-record time — drew less attention than normal.
But for Deba, it was costly. All the after-the-fact ceremonies, medals and even the prize money — if she ever gets it — wouldn’t make up for the opportunities lost when she wasn’t able to capitalize on being a returning champion.
‘When you are the champion, the next year, the appearance fees, the contracts, everything’ is more lucrative, the two-time New York City Marathon runner-up said in 2017. ‘My happiness is that day. But she took it from me.’
Deba’s husband and coach, Worku Beyi, said at the same time they are talking to BAA officials about the prize money, ‘but it is not 100 percent.’ They are hoping Jeptoo will return the money.
‘She knows herself she is not champion,’ Beyi said..<<CONTINUE READING>>
