'Provisional Suspension Against Bahraini Long-Distance Runner Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa'

https://www.athleticsintegrity.org/disciplinary-process/provisional-suspensions-in-force

The AIU announced today that Kenyan-born Bahraini Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa has been provisionally suspended for a positive test for EPO. Prior to disappearing at the end of 2017 after winning the Macao International Marathon Kirwa was a familiar face in Japan, winning all seven of her races there between 2015 and 2017, taking 2nd in another in 2013, and medaling at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, 2015 Beijing World Championships and 2016 Rio Olympics.

It was notable that despite her string of international medals Kirwa never ran the big European and American races after hitting that level, her only appearance in the World Marathon Majors a DNF at the 2014 Boston Marathon and her only times running the biggest European marathons coming in 2012 and 2013 in Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt, all in the 2:21-2:23 range and making the top three twice.

Details of Kirwa's case are still forthcoming, but below is a list of top finishers in the races mentioned above. Japanese women finished 2nd in all four of Kirwa's biggest marathon wins including her three Nagoya Women's Marathon victories, mirroring similar previous busts of frequent Japanese race winners like Russian Albina Mayorova and the Ukraine's Tetiana Shmyrko.

2017 Nagoya Women's Marathon

1. Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa (Bahrain) - 2:21:17

2. Yuka Ando (Japan) - 2:21:36

3. Mao Kiyota (Japan) - 2:23:47

4. Sayaka Kuwahara (Japan) - 2:26:09

2017 Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon

1. Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa (Bahrain) - 1:08:07

2. Amy Cragg (U.S.A.) - 1:08:27

3. Riko Matsuzaki (Japan) - 1:11:04

4. Miho Shimizu (Japan) - 1:11:07

2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics Women's Marathon

1. Jemima Sumgong (Kenya) - 2:24:04 (also undergoing processing for doping suspension)

2. Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa (Bahrain) - 2:24:13

3. Mare Dibaba (Ethiopia) - 2:24:30

4. Tirfe Beyene (Ethiopia) - 2:24:47

5. Volha Mazuronak (Belarus) - 2:24:48

6. Shalane Flanagan (U.S.A.) - 2:25:26

2016 Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon

1. Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa (Bahrain) - 1:08:55

2. Bethlehem Moges (Ethiopia) - 1:11:09

3. Rebecca Chesire (Kenya) - 1:11:09

4. Visiline Jepkesho (Kenya) - 1:11:33

2016 Nagoya Women's Marathon

1. Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa (Bahrain) - 2:22:40

2. Tomomi Tanaka (Japan) - 2:23:19

3. Rei Ohara (Japan) - 2:23:20

4. Mao Kiyota (Japan) - 2:24:32

2016 Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon

1. Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa (Bahrain) - 1:08:06

2. Diane Nukuri (Burundi) - 1:09:23

3. Eloise Wellings (Australia) - 1:09:29

4. Yuka Ando (Japan) - 1:10:10

2015 Beijing World Championships Women's Marathon

1. Mare Dibaba (Ethiopia) - 2:27:35

2. Helah Kiprop (Kenya) - 2:27:36

3. Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa (Bahrain) - 2:27:39

4. Jemima Sumgong (Kenya) - 2:27:42 (also undergoing processing for doping suspension)

5. Edna Kiplagat (Kenya) - 2:28:18

2015 Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon

1. Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa (Bahrain) - 1:09:37

2. Atsede Baysa (Ethiopia) - 1:10:37

3. Brianne Nelson (U.S.A.) - 1:12:43

4. Pasalia Kipkoech (Kenya) - 1:12:51

2015 Nagoya Women's Marathon

1. Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa (Bahrain) - 2:22:08

2. Sairi Maeda (Japan) - 2:22:48

3. Mai Ito (Japan) - 2:24:42

4. Risa Takenaka (Japan) - 2:28:09

*Russian Mariya Konovalova finished 2nd in 2:22:27 but had this and other results annulled as the result of a drug suspension, elevating Maeda to 2nd.

2014 Incheon Asian Games Women's Marathon

1. Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa (Bahrain) - 2:25:37

2. Ryoko Kizaki (Japan) - 2:25:50

3. Lishan Dula (Bahrain) - 2:33:13

4. Eri Hayakawa (Japan) - 2:33:14

2013 Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon

1. Mestawat Tufa (Ethiopia) - 1:10:03

2. Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa (Bahrain) - 1:10:09

3. Lara Tamsett (Australia) - 1:13:33

4. Yuko Mizuguchi (Japan) - 1:14:44

Chepkirui Over Sato Again to Win 2nd-Straight Nagoya Women's Marathon, Chen Breaks Malaysian NR (updated)

This year's Nagoya Women's Marathon felt like a changing of the guard, with some the bigger domestic names over the last few years fading early and a lot of newer faces stepping up with quality debuts or second marathons. The front group was set to be paced for 2:20 flat with the 2nd group at 2:23:30 to hit the auto-qualifying time for the 2027 MGC Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials race in Nagoya. Up front things went out OK, but after a 33:10 split at 10 km Ayuko Suzuki , 2:21:22 here 2 years ago, lost touch, ultimately finishing 23rd in 2:33:28. Windy conditions started to play with pacers' ability to keep things steady and the pace slowed majorly over the next 10 km, but even with a 34:05 second 10 km there were big-name casualties. 2024 Nagoya winner Yuka Ando was next to drop, ending up 17th in 2:30:32. NR holder Honami Maeda was next, followed quickly by Bahraini Kenyan Eunice Chumba and debuting Wakana Kabasawa . Maeda faded to 21st in 2:31:21, whil...

Nagoya Women's Marathon Preview and Streaming (updated)

Japan's winter marathon season of 6 major races in 7-straight weekends wraps up Sunday with the world's largest women-only marathon, the Nagoya Women's Marathon . The weather is looking pretty good, 6˚ at the start rising to 10˚ by the finish and sunny skies, but a moderate 7 m/s NW wind means a headwind finish that might impact the potential for some fast times. Official streaming kicks off at 9:00 a.m. local time. Live results will be here . Sheila Chepkirui won last year in 2:20:40, breaking away from Sayaka Sato and Eunice Chebichii Chumba at 30 km and hanging on for the win. Sato negative split a 2:20:59 PB for 2nd, Chumba fading to 3rd in 2:21:36. All 3 are back this time, but they have pretty serious competition from Aynalem Desta , 2:17:37 in Amsterdam last fall, and Selly Chepyego Kaptich , 2:20:03 in Barcelona 2023. And of course, Japanese NR holder Honami Maeda . Maeda ran 2:18:59 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2024 to make the Paris Oly...

How it Happened

Ancient History I went to Wesleyan University, where the legend of four-time Boston Marathon champ and Wes alum Bill Rodgers hung heavy over the cross-country team. Inspired by Koichi Morishita and Young-Cho Hwang’s duel at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics I ran my first marathon in 1993, qualifying for Boston ’94 where Bill was kind enough to sign a star-struck 20-year-old me’s bib number at the expo. Three years later I moved to Japan for grad school, and through a long string of coincidences I came across a teenaged kid named Yuki Kawauchi down at my neighborhood track. I never imagined he’d become what he is, but right from the start there was just something different about him. After his 2:08:37 breakthrough at the 2011 Tokyo Marathon he called me up and asked me to help him get into races abroad. He’d finished 3rd on the brutal downhill Sixth Stage at the Hakone Ekiden, and given how he’d run the hills in the last 6 km at Tokyo ’11 I thought he’d do well at Boston or New York. “I...

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