'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

19-Yr-Old Munakata Breaks Miura's U20 NR to Win Ageo City Half Marathon

The Ageo City Half Marathon is always big, the main race that the coaches of Hakone Ekiden-bound university men's teams use for firming up their entry rosters for the big show. That makes what's basically an idyllic small town race into one of the world's great road races, with depth unmatched anywhere. One of the top-tier people on the start list at 1:02:07, Kodai Miyaoka (Hosei Univ.) took the race out fast, but the entire pack was keying off the fastest man in the race, Reishi Yoshida (Chuo Gakuin Univ.), 1:00:31. Yoshida reeled Miyaoka in before 5 km and kept things steady in the low-1:01 range, wearing down the lead group to around 10 including his CGU teammate Taisei Ichikawa , a quartet from Izumo and National University Ekiden runner-up Komazawa University , 2 runners from local Daito Bunka University , 2:07:54 marathoner Atsumi Ashiwa (Honda), and Australian Ed Goddard . Right after 15 km Komazawa went into action, Yudai Kiyama , Hibiki Murakami and Haru Tanin

Ageo City Half Marathon Preview and Streaming

This weekend's big race is the Ageo City Half Marathon , the next stop on the collegiate men's circuit. Most of the universities bound for the Jan. 2-3 Hakone Ekiden use Ageo to thin down the list of contenders for their final Hakone rosters, and with JRN's development program that sends the first two Japanese collegiate finishers in Ageo to the United Airlines NYC Half every year a lot of coaches put in some of their A-listers too. That gives Ageo legendary depth and fast front-end speed, with a 1:00:47 course record last year from Kenyan corporate leaguer Paul Kuira (JR Higashi Nihon) and the top 26 all clearing 63 minutes. Since a lot of programs just enter everybody on their rosters you never really know who on the entry list is actually going to show up, but if even a quarter of the people at the top end of this year's list run it'll be a great race, even if conditions are looking likely to be a bit warmer than ideal. Chuo Gakuin University 's Reishi Yoshi

10000 m NR Attempt In the Works Saturday at Hachioji Long Distance - Streaming and Preview

There are a bunch of other time trial meets this weekend and next, but Saturday's Hachioji Long Distance is the last big meet for Japanese men, 8 heats of Wavelight-paced 10000 m finely graded from target times of 28:50 down to 26:59 for the fastest heat. Heat 6 at 17:55 local time is effectively the B-race, with 35 Japan-based Kenyans targeting 27:10 at the front end, and in a lot of cases a spot on their teams at the New Year Ekiden national championship on Jan. 1. Corporate teams are only allowed to field one non-Japanese athlete in the New Year Ekiden, and only on its shortest stage, and getting to that has a big impact on African athletes' contracts and renewal prospects. Toyota Boshoku , Yasukawa Denki , Chugoku Denryoku , Aisan Kogyo , JR Higashi Nihon , Subaru and 2024 national champion Toyota are all fielding two Kenyans, and Aichi Seiko three. For people like Toyota's Felix Korir and Samuel Kibathi , getting as close to the 27:10 target time as they can and

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