YEARENDER-Athletics: Amazing world championships can't disperse the doping cloud

LONDON — The perennial battle between adulation and skepticism defined the year in athletics, as fans were treated to mind-blowing performances set against the familiar and troubling backdrop of doping, leaving many unsure whether to applaud or despair.

On the positive side, disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic meant the sport staged a third World Championships in four years, and the 20th edition in Tokyo delivered a near-constant stream of brilliance. Incredible finishes and standout performances saw medals awarded to athletes from 53 nations.

Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis once again shone on the sport’s biggest stage, setting his 14th pole vault world record in front of a spellbound crowd of 57,000. His dominance earned him the Male Athlete of the Year award.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, having seemingly perfected the 400-meter hurdles, seamlessly transitioned to the flat 400 meters and erased Jarmila Kratochvilova’s 42-year-old championship record. Her feat secured her the Female Athlete of the Year honor.

The United States ruled the sprint events through the irrepressible Noah Lyles and the calmly devastating Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who completed a stunning triple crown.

A series of remarkable finishes in the longer distances added to the spectacle. The combined winning margin of the men’s 1,500 meters, 3,000-meter steeplechase, 10,000 meters, and marathon totaled an astonishing 0.18 seconds.

While the advent of super-shoes and “energy-return” tracks has made it increasingly difficult to compare modern performances with history, the infield events remain, in theory, a fairer benchmark.

Tokyo delivered drama there as well, notably in the men’s shot put, where American Ryan Crouser claimed an extraordinary third world title despite not competing for a year due to an elbow injury.

Going one better was Kenyan star Faith Kipyegon, who secured her fourth world title in the 1,500 meters. With three Olympic gold medals and a world record in the event, she further cemented her status as one of the greatest athletes of all time.

Kenya finished second in the medal table with seven gold medals, trailing the United States’ 16. However, when it comes to doping violations, the East African nation remains the runaway leader.

DOPING OFFENSES

Since the Athletics Integrity Unit was established in 2017, 427 athletes have been sanctioned for doping offenses. Of those, a remarkable 149—more than one-third—are Kenyan.

Russia, whose athletes have largely been absent from competition during that period, follows with 75 cases, while Ethiopia and India are joint third with 20 each. An additional 154 Kenyan athletes have been sanctioned in non-international cases.

The most high-profile case this year involved Ruth Chepngetich, who received a three-year ban in October. Her extraordinary marathon world record of two hours, nine minutes, and 56 seconds—set a year earlier—still stands.

Eliud Kipchoge, widely regarded as the greatest marathon runner of all time, gradually faded from the spotlight with dignity, continuing to compete at a high level but increasingly unable to contend for podium finishes.

Even Kipchoge was not immune to the fallout, as at least four pacemakers from his 2019 “Ineos 1:59 Challenge,” in which he broke the two-hour barrier in a non-sanctioned race, have since been banned.

The United States, however, is far from blameless.

Fred Kerley and Marvin Bracy, the gold and silver medalists in the 100 meters at the 2022 World Championships, were both banned. Kerley received a provisional suspension for whereabouts failures, while Bracy accepted a 45-month sanction for anti-doping violations.

Kerley, also a double Olympic medalist, later signed up for the controversial Enhanced Games, where athletes are permitted to use performance-enhancing substances. Erriyon Knighton, who won a world bronze medal in the 200 meters at just 18 years old, was also handed a four-year ban for a doping offense.

U.S. athletes faced uncomfortable scrutiny in August when Olympic 200-meter champion Gabby Thomas called for lifetime bans for coaches who had previously served doping suspensions, arguing that athletes who continued to work with them were “complicit.”

At the center of the debate was Dennis Mitchell, a multiple world and Olympic sprint medalist who coached Jefferson-Wooden and five other medal winners in Tokyo and previously trained Bracy.

Mitchell served a two-year doping ban in 1998 and later admitted to using injections of Human Growth Hormone, a banned substance that was undetectable at the time.

Despite that history, Mitchell was named USA Track & Field Coach of the Year this month. -Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Ken Ferris/Reuters