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Eilish McColgan called out agents and coaches for when athletes test positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Case in point, the Ruth Chepngetich, the marathon world record holder, test result where her sample came up positive for a banned diuretic and masking agent.
McColgan told The Herald, “When the top, top person is doing it, it is really disappointing, but I think the agents and coaches need to be a little bit more responsible for that as well. I mean, this isn’t just Ruth doing this on her own.

“There’s a deeper team involved here that is essentially….. I’m not going to say using an athlete, but do you know what I mean? Whether there’s coaches, doctors, agents, particularly, I think they need to be held responsible in some way.
“The ban is on the athlete, but there needs to be something on the coaches and the people who are administering this to try and cut it down.
“They’re really having a big crackdown on Kenya at the moment, which is amazing to see. Kenya Athletics, to be fair to them, has invested a lot of money in catching people, and it is obviously clearly working, which is great.”
Chepngetich broke the world record during the 2024 Chicago by clocking a 2:09:56 performance. She is the first to break 2:11 and 2:10.
Progression of the past 10 world records
| Athlete | Country | Result | Year | Event | |
| Ruth Chepngetich | Kenya | 2:09:53 | 2024 | Chicago | |
| Tigst Assefa | Ethiopia | 2:11:53 | 2023 | Berlin | |
| Brigid Kosgei | Kenya | 2:14:04 | 2019 | Chicago | |
| Paula Radcliffe | England | 2:15:25 | 2003 | London | |
| Catherine Ndereba | Kenya | 2:18:47 | 2001 | Chicago | |
| Naoko Takahashi | Japan | 2:19:46 | 2001 | Berlin | |
| Tegla Loroupe | Kenya | 2:20:43 | 1999 | Berlin | |
| Tegla Loroupe | Kenya | 2:20:47 | 1998 | Rotterdam | |
| Ingrid Kristiansen | Norway | 2:21:06 | 1985 | London | |
| Ingrid Kristiansen | Norway | 2:24:26 | 1984 | London |
Ten fastest times in history
| Athlete | Country | Time | Year | Event | |
| Ruth Chepngetich | Kenya | 2:09:56 | 2024 | Chicago | |
| Tigst Assefa | Ethiopia | 2:11:53 | 2023 | Berlin | |
| Sifan Hassan | Netherlands (fmr Ethiopian) | 2:13:44 | 2023 | Chicago | |
| Brigid Kosgei | Kenya | 2:14:04 | 2019 | Chicago | |
| Ruth Chepngetich | Kenya | 2:14:18 | 2022 | Chicago | |
| Amane Beriso | Ethiopia | 2:14:58 | 2022 | London | |
| Paula Radcliffe | England | 2:15:25 | 2003 | London | |
| Tigst Assefa | Ethiopia | 2:15:37 | 2022 | Berlin | |
| Ruth Chepngetich | Kenya | 2:15:37 | 2023 | Chicago | |
| Tigst Assefa | Ethiopia | 2:15:50 | 2025 | London |












