The 2:09:56 Paradox: Coe Admits Legal Loophole Protects Tainted World Record
swiss-image.ch/Photo by Moritz Hager
In a year-end briefing that has sent shockwaves through the distance running community, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe has addressed the "farcical" legal reality surrounding Ruth Chepng'etich’s women’s marathon world record. Despite the Kenyan star serving a three-year ban for a doping violation, her historic 2:09:56 mark set at the 2024 Chicago Marathon remains the official standard—a fact Coe admits is a bitter pill for the sport to swallow.
The comments, first reported by Reuters during an international media call, highlight a growing disconnect between anti-doping sanctions and the sanctity of the record books.
The "March 2025" Line in the Sand
The controversy stems from the timeline established by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU). Chepng'etich tested positive for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), a prohibited diuretic and masking agent, during an out-of-competition test on March 14, 2025.
While the AIU successfully handed down a three-year ban in October 2025, the standard legal protocol only allows for the annulment of results from the date of the positive test forward. Because Chepng'etich’s record-shattering run in Chicago occurred five months prior to that test, the result remains legally protected.
"I’m not a lawyer," Coe told journalists, sounding visibly frustrated. "But we are bound by legal strictures. There are challenges where the burden of proof requires evidence that a doping infringement was taking place at the time the performance was made. Without that, our hands are tied."
A "Farcical" Status Quo
For the staff and readers of Marathon Journal, the preservation of the 2:09:56 mark feels like a glitch in the system. When Chepng'etich became the first woman to break the 2:10 barrier, the performance was heralded as a "moon landing" for women's sports. Today, that landing site is shrouded in shadow.
Coe acknowledged that the "optics" are disastrous for a sport trying to regain public trust. He noted that clean athletes and coaches have reached out to him expressing their dismay. To many, a world record is more than a statistic; it is a North Star for human potential. When that star is tied to an athlete currently serving a suspension, the entire constellation of World Major Marathons feels out of alignment.
The Kenyan Doping Crisis Continues
Chepng'etich’s case is the latest—and perhaps most high-profile—chapter in Kenya’s ongoing struggle with anti-doping compliance. Her initial defense, which claimed the ingestion of medication belonging to a housemaid, was dismissed by the AIU as "not credible," leading to an extension of her ban.
While the record stands today, it is not necessarily safe forever. The AIU has signaled that investigations into Chepng'etich’s biological passport and past samples are ongoing. If a "non-analytical" violation—such as evidence of a long-term doping conspiracy or a re-tested sample from 2024—surfaces, the record could still be struck from the books.
Protecting the Future of the 26.2
As we look toward the 2026 season and the debut of the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, the question remains: How does the sport prevent the "Chepng'etich Loophole" from happening again?
Coe suggested that World Athletics is looking at ways to tighten the "look-back" period for world records, but for now, the 2:09:56 stands as a ghost in the machine—a record that everyone sees, but few in the inner circle of the sport truly believe in.
Stay tuned to MarathonJournal.com for continued coverage of the AIU investigations and the evolution of the women’s world record.