Ruth Chepngetich's women's marathon world record remains in place despite a three-year doping ban handed to the Kenyan runner.
The ban followed a failed test five months after her record-setting Chicago performance, where she ran 2hr 9min 56sec.
According to the Athletics Integrity Unit, that result broke the previous women's marathon world record by 1min 57sec and improved her personal best by five minutes.
The record stands because she passed a test after the race itself.
Reaction and Questions
NBC commentators reacted with surprise after Chepngetich crossed the finish line in Chicago.
"Bring it on Neil Armstrong!"
cried one commentator, while another said, "She has done things in this sport that we have not seen."
As her time was confirmed, a commentator added, "Unbelievable!"
Chepngetich was later questioned about doubts surrounding her performance.
"People must talk," she said, and when asked about those suspicions after the race, she replied, "I don't know."
Why the Record Stays
Brett Clothier, head of the Athletics Integrity Unit, discussed the difficulty of changing the record after the ban.
"It is not satisfactory, to be frank," said Clothier.
He explained that anti-doping rules protect athletes from losing results without the required evidence.
"But the world anti-doping code is pretty clearcut on the rights athletes have, even if they're found guilty of a doping offence," said Clothier.
The World Anti-Doping Agency said removing earlier results without proof of earlier doping could conflict with legal principles.
"In the absence of any evidence or reasonable inference that the athlete was doping before or at the time of the earlier results, might well breach a number of legal principles including proportionality and human rights," said a WADA spokesperson.
WADA also addressed comparisons with Lance Armstrong's stripped Tour de France titles and said that case was not a strong precedent.
"He had procedural avenues open to him to contest the sanction but ultimately chose not to use them," said a WADA spokesperson.
The agency added that Armstrong's case had limited relevance for broader retrospective disqualifications.
"That makes his case a relatively weak precedent for establishing how far retrospective disqualification could legally go," said a WADA spokesperson.
The Athletics Integrity Unit found Chepngetich had a hydrochlorothiazide level 20 times above the legal limit and reported concerns over explanations and phone messages related to possible doping activity.
According to the source, the AIU has caught 317 elite Kenyan athletes since it was established in 2017 and operates with an annual budget of $11.9m (£9m).
