Skip to main content

Russian Ugarov Faces 4-Year Ban for Kanazawa Marathon Victory Post-ARAF Suspension

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20151118-00000057-jij-spo
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2015/11/18/kiji/K20151118011531820.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

On Nov. 17 the Russian Federation (ARAF) announced that it intends to impose a suspension of up to four years on marathoner Victor Ugarov for running in and winning the Nov. 15 Kanazawa Marathon after the IAAF's provisional suspension of the ARAF.  On Nov. 13 the IAAF voted to provisionally suspend the ARAF in response to revelations of systematic doping in Russia, a move which included a ban on Russian athletes competing internationally.  As such Ugarov was ineligible to participate in the Kanazawa Marathon but nevertheless ran the Nov. 15 race, which he won in a PB of 2:17:19.  A JAAF spokesperson indicated that Ugarov's mark will now be annulled.

ARAF officials did not know of Ugarov's participation in the Kanazawa Marathon and are launching an investigation.  At the same time they pointed out that, "It is not physically possible to track and notify every single athlete.  As such, if anything the fault for his participation is that of the race organizers who allowed him to run."  Kanazawa Marathon organizers commented, "We are confirming the facts of the situation and discussing what is to be done."

Translator's note: At the time of the race Kanazawa Marathon officials were quoted as saying that there was "no problem" with Ugarov's participation since he was not a registered ARAF member.  Ugarov, one of at least two Russians to compete in the race, is from Kanazawa's sister city of Irkutsk, Russia.  No word yet on whether the Kanazawa Marathon will also face sanctions.
Labels:

Comments

Brett Larner said…
The part of this that bums me out the most is that since Ugarov was there as part of a sister city relationship you just know that they let him run out of politeness, that it would have been rude to stop a guest of honor from running. Now look at the mess they're in. Undone by omotenashi. Sad.
November 18, 2015 at 2:53 PM
TokyoRacer said…
Typical Japanese attitude. "Oh, here in our little corner of the world, we just do our own thing. What happens in the rest of the world doesn't affect us. Refugees? That's someone else's problem. Doping? That's someone else's problem."
November 18, 2015 at 3:14 PM
Matt said…
"It is not physically possible to track and notify every single athlete."
Twitter, Facebook, email. Those would have been a good a start.
November 18, 2015 at 5:09 PM
Brent Wright said…
One article mentioned returning prize money and appearance fees. I didn't see anything about prize money on the Kanazawa Marathon site, and I can't imagine they would pay an appearance fee for a person coming from a sister city.
The ARAF site shows Ugarov getting 6th at the Russian National Marathon championships in May, which must mean he is a part of the ARAF. This article http://mainichi.jp/shimen/news/20151119ddm041050093000c.html has that the Kanazawa Marathon organizers were told that the runners "did not belong to the ARAF." Why would the Russian contingent say that they were not members? Or was there something lost in the translation? There was a proficient Russian-Japanese translator for the interview after the race. Were the race organizers just saying what they wanted to hear?
The biggest bummer is that there was an awesome battle for 2nd-3rd between two local runners coming down to the last 300 meters or so, and the entire TV coverage of the lead was of Ugarov running alone, the announcers trying to think of things to say about him. It would have been much more entertaining and meaningful for everybody (viewers and racers) involved if the two locals had their time in the spotlight.
The results page of the Kanazawa Marathon is メンテナンス中 at the moment, probably updating the results. I think the entire Kanazawa Marathon needs some serious maintenance, not just the results section.
November 19, 2015 at 2:45 PM
TokyoRacer said…
Oh, I'm pretty sure every race in Japan pays appearance money to any foreign pro athlete who runs. This is just a very Japanese thing to do.
Not only for races, but for anything. For example, a newspaper/magazine wants to interview me about my running club. I go meet the person and talk to them, not having asked for/discussed getting anything in return. As we part, they hand me an envelope with 5,000 or 10,000 yen "transportation" money. (Which cost me about 800 yen). This is so common that I would be surprised if they didn't give me anything.
So for a pro, coming from overseas to run in the race, of course they get a nice fat envelope.
November 19, 2015 at 10:03 PM
Brett Larner said…
Likewise, I'd be surprised if there weren't an envelope of cash involved. Prior to Tokyo virtually no Japanese races had public prize money.
November 19, 2015 at 11:00 PM
jbj said…
Maybe Ugarov is a pure russian amateur runner ?... ah, ah, ah !
November 19, 2015 at 11:48 PM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Arao Becomes 1st Man in 40 Years to Score Back-to-Back Ome Road Race Wins

30 km is an under-appreciated distance, and both of Japan's big races at that distance happened Sunday. At the Ome Road Race in western Tokyo's mountains, Sydney Marathon 6th-placer Masato Arao (ND Software) became the first man since the great Kunimitsu Ito in 1985-1986 to win back-to-back years. Arao, who finished 39th of 40 on his leg at the New Year Ekiden last month, stayed in the pack through 20 km before going on the attack, putting over a minute on New Year Ekiden Sixth Stage CR breaker Yudai Shimazu (GMO). Sub-1:31 winning times are rare on the tough and hilly Ome course, but Arao's 1:30:54 almost equaled his 1:30:50 from last year, making him the first Japanese man ever to do it twice and second only to CR holder Ezekiel Cheboitibin . Next up Arao races the Tokyo Marathon, where he is targeting sub-2:06. Shimazu was 2nd in 1:31:58 and Yuta Nakayama (JR Higashi Nihon) 3rd in 1:32:07. Cheboitibin was only 9th, running almost 8 minutes off his CR in 1:36:42. Shi...
3 comments
Read more

Nagoya Women's Marathon Elite Field

Last year's top 3 Sheila Chepkirui , Sayaka Sato and Eunice Chebichii Chumba are back for this year's Nagoya Women's Marathon on Mar. 8, but things are being set up more for it to be a race between Chepkirui, 2:17:49 in Berlin 2023, Aynalem Desta , 2:17:37 in Amsterdam last fall, and Japanese NR holder Honami Maeda , 2:18:59 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2024. Aynalem has the freshest sub-2:20 of the 3, with neither Chepkirui nor Maeda having done it in 2 years. Maeda's only recent result is a 1:10:07 from Houston last month, but when she ran her NR she didn't have any kind of tuneup race to indicate her fitness so it's probably best not to read too much into that. If it goes out as a 2:18 race those are the only 3 who can probably hang with it. If it turns out to be more of a 2:20 race like when Chepkirui won in 2:20:40 last year then there's a group of 7 at the 2:20-2:22 level who will be in the picture, including Chumba, Selly Chep...
Post a Comment
Read more

Osaka Marathon Preview

The Osaka Marathon is Sunday, one of Japan's biggest mass-participation races and the next stop on the calendar for its elite marathoners hoping to qualify for the L.A. Olympics marathon trials in the fall of 2027. Last year it snowed mid-race, but this year is looking warmer than ideal given the season, with sunny skies, almost no wind, and temps forecast to be 11˚ at the start and rising to 19˚ by the time the winners are finishing. NHK is broadcasting Osaka with a heavy emphasis on the men's race, and if you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it from overseas. There's also official streaming on Youtube starting at 8:30 a.m. local time, although it doesn't look like it's the same as what NHK will be showing. Given Osaka's history at the elite level as the continuation of the men-only Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, the women's field is small relative to the men's, just enough to tick World Athletics' label requirements and with almost no do...
1 comment
Read more