If only the Boston Marathon finish line could be cleared of doubt and betrayal as easily as it was cleared of snow the other day. The Back Bay bartender who took it upon himself to shovel away what the blizzard dumped on the wide blue-and-gold stripe painted on Boylston Street has been feted nationwide for his tender gesture.
The woman who crossed the finish line first last April on an emotionally charged day the year after the bombings -- and crossed it first in April 2013, a few hours before the tragedy -- will no longer be celebrated.
Even if Kenya's Rita Jeptoo ends up retaining those titles and others because of the limits and loopholes of law and procedure, the wins will be forever clouded.
Jeptoo's two-year suspension for a positive erythropoietin (EPO) test, announced Friday by Kenyan track officials, was no surprise. She received the standard punishment under the rules in place at the time of her September 2014 test result. The sanction for a first offense doubles to four years under the current World Anti-Doping Agency code that took effect Jan. 1.
Unless Jeptoo files and wins an appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, she is certain to lose her 2014 Chicago Marathon title and the $500,000 World Marathon Majors series bonus she was on the verge of collecting for having won Boston and Chicago in successive years.
She will be ineligible for this year's world marathon championships and next year's Olympic Games, and is banned for life by the six majors -- London, Boston, Tokyo, Berlin, Chicago and New York.
Jeptoo's pre-positive Boston and Chicago championships the past two seasons? That's complicated. Russian marathoner Liliya Shobukhova, the other high-profile distance runner popped last year, had several years of racing wiped out by her biological passport conviction. (The case is still under appeal by international track officials, who contend her two-year ban from competition is too lenient.)
But that kind of case, based on an archive of suspicious test results, gives officials clear authority to reach back and annul past finishes. Not so fast for a one-off positive such as Jeptoo's.
Could Chicago or Boston organizers unilaterally vacate her titles and change their record books? That would make an interesting test case (no pun intended) but on first blush, it seems unlikely. Still, statements issued by the Boston and Chicago organizations Friday indicated they will study their options while waiting to hear whether an appeal will extend the process.
According to the Boston Athletic Association statement, the BAA "will now evaluate the effect of the results of that hearing and penalty on Ms. Jeptoo's results at the Boston Marathon."
And further: "Through an independent adjudication, the BAA will take into account the findings of any hearings which were held, the penalty issued today, and any appeal which might be held ... The BAA will act promptly when the current process is completed, based on the actions and timing of decisions from Athletics Kenya, the IAAF, WADA and CAS.''
BAA executive director Tom Grilk also hinted that the majors are contemplating more aggressive action to protect their races.
"We already have severe and defined penalties, but the Rita Jeptoo case has brought to light the need to work yet further in that regard to ensure our sport,'' Grilk said in the BAA release. "We are deeply disappointed in the findings involving Rita Jeptoo, and we are committed to upholding the integrity and credibility of the Boston Marathon."
The World Marathon Majors has already partnered with the IAAF, track and field's international governing body, to fund out-of-competition testing on long-under-tested Kenyan athletes. It's the very program that nabbed Jeptoo.
An official in one of the six race organizations, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue, said the Jeptoo positive test result has spurred extensive discussion in recent months of what more the series can do to see that tainted titles don't stand and cheaters don't keep ill-gotten gains. (Although getting prize money back can be a nightmare, as outlined in this report from Runner's World.)
"Trust me, you'll be hearing more from us,'' the source said.
London Marathon CEO Nick Bitel said World Marathon Majors officials intend to stay "ahead of the pack'' in their approach to punishing dopers.
That will be some comfort to the clean runners who are training now and thinking about that line on Boylston Street that endures even when buried by winter and wondering.