Running Officials Did Not Test Long Shot New York City Marathon Winner Before Race

In a statement, Clothier said that his organization had been forced to reduce the pool of athletes in the Registered Testing Program for the world’s six major marathons during the coronavirus pandemic. This year, his organization tested only the top 80 long-distance road racing competitors (40 men and 40 women), using World Athletics rankings, and Lokedi was not in that group.

“Sharon Lokedi had no ranking in the marathon and she was ranked 47th in the half-marathon,” Clothier said.

Lokedi could not be reached for comment. Her coach, Stephen Haas, did not respond to messages seeking comment.

A spokeswoman for the A.I.U. said the organization had not tested her since June 2021.

Lokedi, who won the women’s marathon in New York in 2 hours 23 minutes 23 seconds, was not subject to more testing before the race, in part, because her running résumé had been unremarkable. She attended the University of Kansas and finished 10th in the N.C.A.A. women’s cross country championship in 2015 and fifth in 2016. Earlier this year, she finished fourth in the New York City Half Marathon, completing the 13.1-mile race in 1:08:14. In June, she finished second in the New York Mini 10K, posting a time of 30:52.

Officials with New York Road Runners, the marathon’s organizer, said they had submitted Lokedi’s name to the A.I.U. in June as part of its professional athlete field and her name was also on subsequent lists. After that, it is up to the A.I.U. to manage the testing. In addition, N.Y.R.R. stated that Lokedi had been subject to testing immediately following the race.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/09/sports/new-york-marathon-lokedi-doping.html