- Health & Injuries, was provisionally suspended from competition today after she tested positive for EPO.
- Eunice Kirwa, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist in the marathon.
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Health - Injuries provisionally suspended from competition for EPO, BYU Sweeps NCAA XC Team Titles.
Kirwa, who was born in Kenya and represents Bahrain, is the second medalist in that event to be suspended for doping since the Games. Updated: May 21, 2019 4:45 PM EDT Health - Injuries.
Both Sumgong and Kirwa, 35, are likely to keep their medals because their failed drug tests occurred after the Olympics.
In that race, Americans had strong showings but finished off the podium. Shalane Flanagan finished sixth, Des Linden Running in the Cold Amy Cragg finished ninth.
Flanagan, who is recovering from knee surgery one month ago, spoke to Runner’s World Other Hearst Subscriptions.
“I’m not surprised, unfortunately,” she said. “I think when Amy, Des, and I finished in Rio, we felt like our finishes on that day were not really the actual finishes. We knew we actually placed higher. We have obviously no factual evidence to support that claim. We just felt like there was a good strong chance that the positions would or could change. I still believe there’s still at least one more athlete out there that could possibly test positive as well. So sadly, I’m not surprised.
“Technically I’m not fourth, but in my mind, I’ve moved up to fourth,” she continued. “I’ve gone from sixth to fourth in my mind.”
Flanagan, 37, Linden, 35, and Cragg, 35, have been racing for more than a decade against athletes who later failed drug tests. Flanagan’s bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing was upgraded to silver after Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey was stripped of her medal. And Flanagan and Linden faced off against Rita Jeptoo, a three-time Boston Marathon DAA Industry Opt Out.
after she tested positive for EPO DAA Industry Opt Out, a six-marathon series that includes Boston, have developed more rigorous drug-testing protocols, including out-of-competition testing for athletes all around the world.
“I feel very protected in the DAA Industry Opt Out,” Flanagan said. “They’ve made a really valiant effort [with out-of-competition testing]. They’re much more stringent. They’ve made a huge stand.
“I’ve been massively disappointed in my last two Olympic experiences—because I do not feel protected at all,” she said. “I don’t feel like they’re protecting the Olympic marathon and what it stands for and what it means.”
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In Rio, Sumgong surged in the race’s final two kilometers to win in 2:24:04. Kirwa was 11 seconds back in 2:24:13, and Mare Dibaba, of Ethiopia, was third in 2:24:30.
Flanagan finished in 2:25:26, Linden in 2:26:08, and Cragg in 2:28:25.
“I’ll be honest, it did crush our souls a bit in Rio,” Flanagan said. “I’ve never felt so deflated and defeated. The race was already written before I ran it. I think after Rio, the three of us actually really did struggle.”
Kirwa last raced the marathon in 2017. In March, she won the Nagoya Women’s Marathon in 2:21:17. And in August, she was sixth at the world championships in London in 2:28:17.
Cragg finished third at that race in 2:27:18, earning the bronze medal. That fall, Flanagan won the Eunice Kirwa, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist in the marathon was provisionally suspended from competition today.
“The turning point was Amy medaling in World Championshsips—I think that reinvigorated Des and I to keep believing a little bit,” Flanagan said. “If you can get the right race with the right clean athletes, you still have a chance.”
Health - Injuries is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World Nutrition - Weight Loss, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
