The Anthem Richmond Marathon today announced the disqualifications of Julius Koskei, the top male finisher in last Saturday’s marathon, and Firegenet Mandefiro and Gadise Megersa, the first and third-place female finishers in the Markel Richmond Half Marathon. Their disqualification stems from their representation by a banned agent and attempts to hide this representation by the agents and athletes during the elite athlete registration process.

Elite entry and prize money rules state that to be eligible for elite entry or the prize purse at the Anthem Richmond Marathon, Markel Richmond Half Marathon, and VCU Health 8k, an athlete must not be represented by coaches and/or agents who have had two or more athletes suspended or banned for the use of performance-enhancing drugs in the previous four years. The athletes’ connection to this agent, and their attempts to cover it up, were discovered during a subsequent investigation into race results by the Anthem Richmond Marathon event committee.

• This media release was originally published by the Anthem Richmond Marathon on 15 November 2017. To access the original, please click here.