Athletics Kenya said on Friday it has banned marathon champion Rita Jeptoo two years for doping.
"Rita Jeptoo is a three-time winner of the Boston Marathon and a two-time winner of the Chicago Marathon.
Jeptoo has won the Boston Marathon three times, and her second Chicago Marathon in October.
She tested positive for the blood-booster EPO in an out-of-competition test conducted in September before she went on to defend her Chicago title the following month. Both the "A" and "B" samples were positive.
Under the previous World Anti-Doping Code, the standard sanction for a serious doping offense was a two-year ban. The punishment has been doubled to four years under the new version of the code, which went into effect on Jan. 1.
Jeptoo, 33, had already been denied her share of the $500,000 prize for winning the 2013/14 World Marathon Majors."