Maude Mathys declared 2022 Sierre-Zinal champion
Race organizers have officially stripped Esther Chesang of her title and awarded it to Mathys
Photo by:
Marco Gulberti
Organizers of the famed mountain race Sierre-Zinal in Switzerland have retroactively declared Swiss trail runner Maude Mathys the 2022 champion following a doping scandal with the race’s original winner, Kenya’s Esther Chesang.
Mathys finished in second place at the August race, crossing the line just 31 seconds behind Chesang, who raced Sierre-Zinal despite recording a positive drug test earlier in the year. Following the news of this positive test (which wasn’t publicly known until January), Sierre-Zinal organizers have made the decision to officially strip Chesang of the 2022 title and award it to Mathys, meaning she now has four straight wins at the event.
Maude Mathys remporte la victoire de Sierre-Zinal 2022 dans un temps de 2h52’35’’ !
La direction de #sierrezinal prend la décision de disqualifier Esther Chesang de l’édition 2022, sous réserve de procédure en cours.
Retrouvez ici tous nos engagements : https://t.co/5ZP4CWiROk pic.twitter.com/KXJg9zzNVf— Sierre Zinal (@SierreZinal) March 12, 2023
Chesang’s positive test
Heading into Sierre-Zinal 2022, all eyes were on Mathys, who had not only won the previous three editions of the race, but broken the course record on each occasion. She was the favourite to win yet another title, but Chesang spoiled her bid for a fourth straight title. Chesang, who was making her Sierre-Zinal debut, covered the arduous 31K course in 2:52:01, finishing just ahead of Mathys, who posted a final time of 2:52:32. (Neither time came close to Mathys’s course record of 2:46:03 from 2021.)
Unfortunately, Mathys was unfairly denied a fourth win at Sierre-Zinal, as Chesang had tested positive for a banned substance at a race in May 2022, but the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) failed to communicate this with Sierre-Zinal organizers. Due to ADAK’s silence on the matter, Chesang was permitted to race in Switzerland, and the news of her positive test was not made public until January, months after she claimed the 2022 Sierre-Zinal title.
As race organizers said in a press release, they had to look into the doping report and positive test before officially stripping Chesang of her win. The decision has finally been made, though, and the Sierre-Zinal has announced that Mathys is the new 2022 champion.
Chesang’s doping scandal was a big blow to Sierre-Zinal, as she joined the original male champion, fellow Kenyan Mark Kangogo, with a retroactive disqualification. The men’s title was awarded to Spain’s Andreu Blanes following Kangogo’s positive test.
Although Mathys was robbed of the opportunity to celebrate four straight wins in the moment, she is now listed in the record books as a four-time champion of the event.
Sierre-Zinal’s 50th
After what turned out to be a disappointing 2022 edition of the event (solely due to the doping stories that emerged after the race), the Sierre-Zinal team has turned its attention to 2023, which will mark the 50th running of the race. Mathys has yet to post her 2023 race calendar, but if she announces plans to run Sierre-Zinal yet again, she’ll certainly be the favourite to make it five wins in a row. On the men’s side, nine-time Sierre-Zinal winner and course record holder Kilian Jornet has already announced he will be back to contend for a tenth title.
The 2023 edition of Sierre-Zinal is set for Aug. 12, and registration for the event opens on April 2.
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