Seven off-field moments that defined athletics in 2025
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Reading Time: 4min | Sat. 27.12.25. | 17:42
From career-ending decisions to controversies that shook the sport’s foundations, Mozzart Sport takes a look at the defining stories away from competition.
While records continued to fall and medals were won on the track, 2025 will also be remembered for a series of powerful off-field moments that reshaped global athletics.
From career-ending decisions to controversies that shook the sport’s foundations, Mozzart Sport takes a look at the defining stories away from competition.
Ruth Chepng’etich suspension rocks marathon running
One of the most jarring moments of the year came on Thursday, 23 October, when women’s marathon world record holder Ruth Chepng’etich was handed a three-year ban after admitting to anti-doping rule violations.
Chepng’etich was provisionally suspended in July following a positive test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), a banned diuretic commonly used as a masking agent, from a sample taken on 14 March.
Although the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had pushed for a four-year sanction, the ban was reduced after the 31-year-old admitted to the violations.
Crucially, her achievements prior to the test remain intact, including her historic world record of 2:09:56 set at the Chicago Marathon in October 2024.
Nonetheless, the case sent shockwaves through long-distance running and reopened difficult conversations around integrity in the sport.
Eliud Kipchoge brings an era to a close
In November, athletics witnessed the end of one of its greatest chapters when marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge officially retired from competitive running at the New York City Marathon.
After years of speculation, Kipchoge chose New York as the stage to close the curtain on a career that redefined human endurance.
Fittingly, he was inducted into the Seven Star Hall of Fame, which honors runners who have completed all World Marathon Majors: Tokyo, Boston, London, Sydney, Berlin, Chicago and New York.
His retirement marked not just the end of a career, but the conclusion of an era that inspired millions across the globe.
Enhanced Games challenge the soul of sport
The announcement of the Enhanced Games emerged as one of the most controversial developments of 2025. Set to debut in Las Vegas in May 2026, the Games will openly permit the use of performance-enhancing substances banned in mainstream sport.
Organizers insist the concept will reshape global sport. The inaugural edition will feature swimming, sprinting and weightlifting, and has already attracted high-profile athletes such as three-time world champion sprinter Fred Kerley and British Olympic silver medalist swimmer Ben Proud.
With 21 athletes already confirmed and expectations of around 50 competitors by the time the Games begin, the initiative has ignited fierce debate around ethics, athlete welfare and the future of elite competition.
The stunning fall of Grand Slam Track
What was billed as a revolutionary track and field league ended in financial collapse.
Grand Slam Track, fronted by sprinting great Michael Johnson, declared bankruptcy in a bid to “reorganize” after cancelling its final event and failing to pay athletes and vendors.
The league had promised six-figure prize money and claimed a starting bankroll of $30 million (approximately KSh4.8 billion). However, bankruptcy filings revealed it had less than $50,000 (about KSh8 million) in cash, between 200 and 999 creditors, and debts ranging from $10 million to $50 million (roughly KSh1.6 billion to KSh8 billion).
Despite signing some of the sport’s biggest stars, including world champions Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Anna Hall and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, the project unraveled rapidly.
By October, many athletes were still owed six-figure sums, while vendors rejected an offer to accept just 50% of what they were owed or risk the league folding entirely.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce bows out
In October, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce officially announced her retirement, bringing down the curtain on one of the most glittering sprint careers in history.
Although expected, the news was still monumental. For nearly two decades, the Jamaican icon thrilled fans worldwide, earning a reputation as the most decorated 100m sprinter of all time.
Fraser-Pryce retired with eight Olympic medals and 17 World Championships medals, including a silver in the 4x100m at September’s World Championships, her final appearance on the global stage.
Fred Kerley provisionally suspended
American sprint star Fred Kerley found himself at the center of controversy in August after being provisionally suspended by the AIU for alleged whereabouts failures under anti-doping regulations.
Kerley, a heavyweight in global athletics, is a Tokyo Olympic 100m silver medalist, Paris 2024 bronze medalist and six-time World Championships medalist. The case added to a year marked by increased scrutiny of elite athletes’ compliance with anti-doping rules.
Following his suspension, Kerley again courted controversy by becoming one of the first signees of the Enhanced Games.
Women redefine Kenya’s athletics narrative
Away from individual controversies, one of the most powerful stories of 2025 was the dominance of women at the World Championships in Tokyo.
Kenya finished with 11 medals , seven gold, two silver and two bronze, surpassing its 2015 Beijing haul and improving on its fifth-place finish in Budapest in 2023. It marked one of the nation’s most successful championship outings.
Strikingly, this success came as Kenya’s famed men’s long-distance dominance faltered.
The country failed to medal in the 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon. Matthew Kipsang finished 11th in the 5,000m, Ishmael Kipkurui narrowly missed out with fourth place in the 10,000m, while Benson Kiplangat failed to finish. In the marathon, Kenya was shut out entirely as Tanzania’s Alphonce Simbu claimed gold.
In contrast, Kenyan women ruled the 800m, 1,500m, 5,000m, 3,000m steeplechase and marathon, underlining a clear shift in the country’s athletics landscape.
