3 Key Off-Track Events that Shook The Athletics World in 2025

Pulse Sports highlights the moments that left athletics fans shocked, surprised and proud.

While the 2025 season delivered some of the most memorable on-track performances in recent history, many of the year's defining narratives unfolded away from the stadium.

From shocking doping revelations to ambitious but troubled new ventures, the sport experienced significant highs and lows beyond the finish line.

These moments sparked debate, inspired awe, and sometimes left fans and insiders bewildered. Here are five off-track events that shaped the conversation in athletics this year.

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The Asterisk on a Historic Marathon

On October 13, 2024, Ruth Chepngetich stunned the world by running the Chicago Marathon in 2:09:56, becoming the first woman to break the 2:10 barrier. It was a performance so staggering that it felt almost unbelievable. As it turned out, for many, it was.

In March 2025, the Athletics Integrity Unit announced that Chepngetich had tested positive for a masking agent, resulting in a three-year doping ban. Because the suspension was backdated only to April 2025, her historic Chicago result was not officially erased from the record books. Despite this, the 2:09:56 mark now carries an undeniable asterisk.

The news sparked a familiar debate: was this a sign of a broken anti-doping system, or proof that it ultimately works? While her name may remain on the all-time list, a strong consensus within the sport has already dismissed the legitimacy of her record, suggesting that public credibility can sometimes matter more than official statistics.

Grand Slam Track's Financial Stumble

Michael Johnson's ambitious professional racing league, Grand Slam Track (GST), entered the year with bold promises and significant media attention. Billed as a lucrative new frontier for the sport's top athletes, it aimed to revolutionize track and field. However, the league soon faced mounting financial difficulties, culminating in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing—which organizers termed a "court-supervised reorganization."

The defining moment of GST's struggles was the abrupt cancellation of its Los Angeles meet. The league's claim that the final event was unnecessary because the concept had already been proven successful was met with widespread skepticism. For a sport built on endurance and finishing strong, the decision to stop short of the finish line was a telling blow. As many fans noted, you can't spin a DNF into a personal best.

Faith Kipyegon's Ambitious "Breaking4" Attempt

While it took place on a track, the "Breaking4" project was less a traditional race and more a high-tech exhibition. The unsanctioned Nike event saw 1500m great Faith Kipyegon attempt to become the first woman to run a sub-four-minute mile. Though she fell short of the barrier, she still clocked the fastest mile ever run by a woman.

The true significance of the event was Kipyegon's willingness to embrace an unconventional challenge. Having already achieved nearly every possible accolade in her discipline—including multiple world records and world titles—her 2025 season became a measure of her continued dominance and her courage to pursue something new and untested.

The "Breaking4" project, even as a marketing spectacle, highlighted her unique status in the sport and her readiness to push boundaries beyond the official competition circuit.