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Universiade Women's 5000 m Gold and Silver Medalists Bârcă and Golovkina Banned for Positive Drug Tests

Thank you to Hilary Evans and reader Joe West for pointing out this story.

2013 Kazan Universiade (World University Games) women's 5000 m gold medalist Roxana Bârcă of Romania has received a ban for testing positive at the Universiade in connection with her win on July 11.

http://www.antena3.ro/en/sport/romanian-athlete-roxana-barca-gold-medalist-in-kazan-tested-positive-for-doping-223161.html

With Bârcă's medal retracted silver medalist Olga Golovkina of Universiade host Russia is apparently elevated to gold, with Japan's bronze medalist Ayuko Suzuki (Nagoya Univ.) and 4th-placer Mai Shoji (Chukyo Univ.) moving up to silver and bronze respectively. However, Golovkina herself has received a two-year ban for testing positive for steroids in an out-of-competition test five days after the Universiade women's 5000 m.

http://en.ria.ru/sports/20131005/183957328.html

As Golovkina's positive test was subsequent to her Universiade run it appears that she will still receive the gold medal despite currently serving a drug ban rather than the medals going to Suzuki, Shoji and 5th-place Dudu Karakaya of Turkey.  What a mess.
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Comments

Anonymous said…
Are you joking? A medal goes by default to another drug cheat. Aw come on.....get it together.
December 6, 2013 at 6:45 AM
André Roukema said…
If someone has it together then it is Brett Larner who almost singlehandedly opened up the Japanese runningculture for running fans outside Japan. Thanks for the opportunity to mention that once more. But who are you Anonymous?
December 9, 2013 at 4:05 AM
Brett Larner said…
Thanks for the kind words, but I think the anonymous poster was directing the get it together comment to the powers that be with regard to the current situation mentioned in this post.
December 9, 2013 at 3:18 PM
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