Ten years and one month after Buzunesh Deba finished the 2014 Boston Marathon as the rightful winner, she finally received the prize money she never received. But that money didn’t come from the Boston Athletic Association.
Rather, it came from a stranger.
When Deba crossed the finish line at Boylston Street in 2014, she did not receive international praise, a commemorative gold wreath or $100,000 in prize money ($75,000 for winning plus $25,000 for breaking the course record). Rather, that honor and win went to Rita Jeptoo, who crossed the finish line first that year but was stripped of the win by the BAA in 2016 due to a failed drug test.
Deba finished second that day, just over a minute behind Jeptoo, but her time of 2:19:59 still broke the previous course record set by Margaret Okyo in 2002.
However, after the test failed, Deba’s name replaced Jeptoo’s in the history books, but the money did not appear in Deba’s bank account.
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Despite Jeptoo’s records being expunged and her name tarnished, her winnings were never recovered. There was a similar case at the Chicago Marathon, where Liliya Shobukhova won three times with a total prize money of $265,000 before she was caught for doping. Like Jeptoo, she never recovered her money from Shobukhova either.
That was until Doug Guyer gave her money out of his own pocket. Guyer, a businessman from Philadelphia, personally paid Deba $75,000 last April after reading an article in The Wall Street Journal saying she had not received her winnings.
“We cried. “I called her mother and told her and she was so happy.” Deba said. athletic By email.
Deba, who competes internationally for Ethiopia, lives in the Bronx, New York with her husband and two children.
She had success at the 2014 New York City Marathon, where she placed 9th, and returned to Boston in 2015, where she placed 3rd.
But for Deba, her 2014 win remains the pinnacle of her career. And her family desperately needed that victory.
“It really means a lot. It allows you to train again. We have no sponsors. “We have to pay for everything,” he said. “And I have two children. The money will go to my training and my family. We are so grateful. We have been waiting for this for so long and have almost given up. God bless Doug.”
Guyer, who played football at Boston College and lost the starting quarterback job to Doug Flutie in 1981, told the Boston Globe: “It was about correcting a mistake that had been wrong for 10 years.”
Guyer said the BAA would consider sending him a $25,000 course record bonus if he didn’t.
The BAA said in a statement that it was “trying to recover the prize money from Rita Jeptu” and that it planned to pay Deva the prize money once it was received. The organization said it was supported by a policy organized by World Athletics and supported by World Marathon Majors.
A BAA spokesperson said: “BAA continues to pursue Mr Jeptoo to recover Mr Deba’s winnings and BAA believes this will be a just and fair outcome for Mr Deba and all runners who follow the rules.”
Deba said she had been skeptical of Jeptoo’s performance since race day in 2014 and wondered why Jeptoo wasn’t tired when he crossed the finish line.
Deva looks over her shoulder on Boylston Street at her home stadium during the 2014 Boston Marathon. (Photo: Dina Ludik / Getty Images)
But Deba couldn’t believe it when she was told she was the winner in 2016.
“I was in my apartment and I was jumping up and down. “It was my biggest victory,” she said. “Not only was I the champion, I was also the course record holder.”
Deba said he has never held a grudge against BAA despite waiting 10 years for his proper victory. Instead, she thinks of the organization ‘like a family.’
She went public with her story last April, but hesitated to share it for years because she believed the BAA would do the right thing for her just weeks before the 10th anniversary of her win. She was also afraid that if she said anything she would not be invited back to the prestigious race.
“It all started when a friend came to my apartment, saw my second place trophy and asked, ‘What is this?’ Where’s your real trophy?’ I told her they never sent it to me,” Deba said. “She was so upset with me. We wrote them a letter and ended up getting a medal. Then he asked me to come to the 10th anniversary award ceremony. She said she should find out what they plan to do with the money.”
In response to The Wall Street Journal article, fans around the world came to Deba’s defense, with many willing to crowdfund her winnings.
“I’m so grateful to know that I have so many people behind me,” Deva said. “It’s important for people to know how hard I worked to win. This is my job. I am not begging for something that is not mine. “I put a lot of effort into winning and it’s great to see the community agrees with me.”
Deba said it was only after the article was published in April that the BAA responded to her attempts to advance her case.
But that doesn’t diminish her love for racing or even prevent her from wanting to return to the world’s most famous marathon.
“It’s still my dream not only to come back and run, but to win Boston,” she said.
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(Photo: John Blanding / The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
