Fastest women's marathon runner provisionally SUSPENDED after testing positive for banned substance - having beat previous world record time by TWO MINUTES
Kenya's Ruth Chepng'etich, who smashed the world record time by two minutes last October, is under scrutiny or a sample collected on March 14 this year.
The test found hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), a diuretic which helps to reduce the amount of water in the body by increasing the flow of urine.
Chepng'etich opted for a voluntary provisional suspension in April while an investigation was ongoing, but now the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has formally imposed a provisional ban.
It has left the long-distance running world in shock after her time of 2:09:56 at the Chicago Marathon last year breezily surpassed any that had ever before been set.
'Chepng'etich was not provisionally suspended by the AIU at the time of notification, however, on 19 April, she opted for a voluntary provisional suspension while the AIU's investigation was ongoing,' said AIU head Brett Clothier.
'In the intervening months, the AIU continued its investigation and today issued a Notice of Charge and imposed its own provisional suspension.'
For a test to come back as positive for HCTZ, the concentration needs to be at least 20 nanograms per milliliter.
Chepng'etich's sample returned an estimated concentration of 3,800 nanograms per millileter.
The AIU said that HCTZ is 'used clinically to treat fluid retention and hypertension.'
It is a class S5 Prohibited Substance, banned at all times, and a Specified Substance. The standard sanction for Specified Substances is two years' ineligibility.
Chepng'etich has the right for her case to be heard before a Disciplinary Tribunal.
In April, she withdrew from the London Marathon, claiming that she was 'not in the right place mentally or physically' to put in her best performance.
For winning the Chicago Marathon last year, she earned around £74,500 and a further £37,300 for breaking the record.
She averaged an astonishing 4:57.4 per mile.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
England vs Spain – Women's Euros final: Get Lionesses at 3/1 to lift trophy PLUS £20 in free bets with Midnite
Commercial content notice: Taking one of the betting offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. 18+. T&Cs apply. TROPHY BOOST England vs Spain – Women's Euros final: Get Lionesses at 3/1 to lift trophy PLUS £20 in free bets with Midnite Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ENGLAND and Spain meet in a mouth-watering climax to the Women's Euros on Sunday. Sarina Wiegman's side are attempting to defend their trophy and have shown incredible powers of recovery throughout the knockouts to reach the final once more. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up Midnite have a fantastic price boost for England backers, with the Lionesses to lift the trophy now available at 3/1 - up from the usual price of 2/1! Midnite's new customer offer Midnite welcome offer Download the Midnite app or create an account online HERE* Register using the Promo Code: BETGETSPORTS Deposit a minimum of £10 Place a pre-match bet of £10 and a minimum of 4 legs, at minimum total odds of 3/1 Once that's settled - win or lose - you will receive £20 in free bets You will also receive 50 free spins England vs Spain: Get £20 in free bets and 50 free spins HERE* England go into the contest as underdogs, such is the strength of the Spanish squad and their World champions tag. This Lionesses group have done it before though and won't be looking to give their European champions tag up easily. Not giving up has been a feature of their campaign - particularly in the knockouts - and the semi final highlighted that more than any other. Sometimes, it's just written in the stars. Midnite have a top price boost on that continuing and England lifting the trophy. The normal price of England winning the final is 2/1 but Midnite are offering all customers 3/1 for a Lionesses triumph! Midnite new customer offer Want to join Midnite? Well here's how you can... Simply download Midnite's app or create an account online using the Promo Code: BETGETSPORTS Once that's done, deposit a minimum of £10 and stake a pre-match bet of £10 and a minimum of 4 legs, at minimum total odds of 3/1. Once that's settled - win or lose - you will receive £20 in free bets. You will also receive 50 free spins to spend on Big Bass Splash (valued at 10p per spin). Midnite offer: Get £20 in free bets and 50 free spins HERE* Remember to gamble responsibly A responsible gambler is someone who: Establishes time and monetary limits before playing Only gambles with money they can afford to lose Never chase their losses Doesn't gamble if they're upset, angry or depressed Gamcare – GambleAware – Read our guide on responsible gambling practices. For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites. *18+ New UK customers. Bet £10 on accas with 4+ legs, min odds 3/1 (4.0). Get 4x £5 Free Bets and 50 Free Spins, valid for 7 days on selected bets and games only. T&Cs apply.
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
MLB rookie Nick Kurtz has baseball's 'best game ever' as 22-year-old stuns rivals with historic performance
Athletics rookie Nick Kurtz stunned the Houston Astros with what has been branded 'the best game ever' in baseball Friday night. With his parents and godparents in attendance at Daikin Park, the 22-year-old didn't make an out all night as he made MLB history. The slugger became the first rookie in major league history to hit four home runs in a game, going deep in the second, sixth, eighth and ninth innings, to help the A's thrash the Astros 15-3. He also matched the MLB record for total bases with 19, doubling and singling on his 6-for-6 night to equal Shawn Green, who had four homers, six hits and 19 total bases for the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 23, 2002 at Milwaukee. It was the 20th four-homer game in major league history and second this season after Arizona 's Eugenio Suarez also managed the feat on April 26 against Atlanta. Kurtz and Green are the only players with six hits in a four-homer game. And at 22, Kurtz is the youngest player with a four-homer game. Pat Seerey of the Chicago White Sox was 25 when he hit four longballs on July 18, 1948. 'It's arguably the best game I've ever watched from a single player,' Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. 'This kid continues to have jaw-dropping moments.' ESPN's famed MLB reporter Jeff Passan hailed the historic performance as one of the best the game has witnessed. 'Never in baseball's 150-year history has a player finished a game with at least six hits, six runs and eight RBIs until Nick Kurtz tonight,' Passan wrote on X. 'His 19 total bases tie Shawn Green's single-game record -- and Kurtz had one more RBI. There's a genuine argument it is the best game ever.' 'Nick Kurtz just had one of the greatest games in baseball history,' he added. '6 for 6 with four home runs, six runs and eight RBIs. He is a 22-year-old rookie.' Kurtz homered off each of the Astros' four pitchers: Ryan Gusto, Nick Hernandez, Kaleb Ort and Cooper Hummel, who worked the ninth with the game out of hand. Having already blasted three homers as he stepped up to the plate at his final at-bat of the game, Kurtz admitted that making history wasn't on his mind. Instead, he just didn't want to embarrass himself against Hummel, a position player. 'Position player on the mound, I'm just trying to move the ball forward,' Kurtz said. 'You don't want to be the guy who strikes out.' He didn't embarrass himself. Not at all. Instead, Kurtz fired a 77 mph, 2-0 pitch from the outfielder into the seats left of field. Nick Kurtz just had one of the greatest games in baseball history. 6 for 6 with four home runs, six runs and eight RBIs. He is a 22-year-old rookie. — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 26, 2025 ESPN's famed MLB reporter Jeff Passan hailed the historic performance as one of the best He almost had a fifth too. Kurtz's double in the fourth inning hit just below the yellow line over the visitors' bullpen, narrowly missing what would have been a fifth homer. 'Everybody was just like, laughing,' A's shortstop Jacob Wilson said. 'How is he doing it? This is not normal. He's playing a different sport than us right now. It's not baseball, it's just tee ball what he's doing right now.' Kurtz's longest drive was his third, a 414-foot solo shot off Ort in the eighth. His fourth homer landed in the Crawford Boxes in left field at Daikin Park. The 6-foot-5 slugger has 23 homers in 66 games this season. The fourth overall pick in last year's amateur draft out of Wake Forest, he made his major league debut on April 23 and hit his first homer on May 13. Kurtz has been the best hitter in the majors in July, ranking first in batting average (.425), on-base percentage (.494), slugging percentage (1.082), runs (22), doubles (13), homers (11) and RBIs (27). With the baseballs from his last two homers inside a plastic bag at his locker, Kurtz signed scorecards from all four A's broadcasters and a lineup card. One of the scorecards and a bat were bound for the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Reuters
6 hours ago
- Reuters
White Sox seek to sustain scoring surge in clash vs. Cubs
July 26 - The Chicago White Sox boast a major-league-best 61 runs since the All-Star break and have gone 6-1 over that span. It's certainly a feel-good run for a team that toiled during much of the first half, and the White Sox hope to maintain their surge as they host the crosstown rival Chicago Cubs on Saturday night. An 18-hit attack lifted the White Sox to a 12-5 rout of the Cubs in Friday's series opener. Colson Montgomery homered for the third straight game while Chase Meidroth, Austin Slater and Mike Tauchman also went deep for the White Sox. Montgomery is the first rookie in White Sox history to hit a home run in three consecutive games. Edgar Quero collected four hits on Friday, a feat fellow rookies Kyle Teel and Meidroth also have accomplished since the break. "We want to build around these young guys that you're seeing now, and we have some young guys coming in the system; we just had a good draft," White Sox assistant general manager Josh Barfield said. "This young core is really doing a good job of coming up here and not letting the game speed up on them and having success." Reese McGuire was 3-for-4 with four RBIs for the Cubs, including a three-run homer. Vidal Brujan added three hits, and Craig Counsell fell to 7-1 in his career against the White Sox as Cubs manager. The Cubs have lost four of their past five games, getting outscored 38-20 over that span. Rookie right-hander Cade Horton (3-3. 4.04 ERA) will start for the Cubs on Saturday as he aims to beat the White Sox for the second time this season. Horton defeated the visiting South Siders on May 16, scattering three runs and seven hits in five innings with zero walks and two strikeouts in a 13-3 victory. He proved susceptible to the long ball in that game, yielding a pair of home runs to Miguel Vargas, but he has allowed only one homer in 17 1/3 innings over three July starts. Horton took a no-decision against Boston on Sunday, spacing two hits in 5 2/3 innings while walking three and striking out four. The Cubs lost 6-1. Cubs left fielder Ian Happ called Horton's mentality "really impressive," adding that the attribute shows in his ability to keep hitters guessing. "The pitch mix is really, really good," said Happ, who logged the Cubs' only RBI of that game on Sunday. "The changeup has really gotten good against lefties, kind of neutralizing them with the fastball command." Right-hander Aaron Civale (2-6, 4.76 ERA) will start for the White Sox on Sunday. He's aiming to win consecutive starts for the first time this season after defeating host Pittsburgh in a 7-2 game on Sunday behind six strong innings, scattering three hits and one unearned run with one walk and six strikeouts. Civale is 0-0 with a 1.61 ERA in four career starts against the Cubs covering 22 1/3 innings, with 16 strikeouts and 18 hits allowed. White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. (sore adductor) was out of the lineup on Friday but was available to pinch hit. Manager Will Venable said the team is hopeful he will return to the lineup Saturday. Robert is riding a nine-game hitting streak and is batting .351 in July. --Field Level Media --Field Level Media
