'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

10000 m National Championships Preview

Less than five months since the 2023 10000 m National Championships went down at the 2021 Olympic stadium in Tokyo, the 2024 edition happens Friday at Shizuoka's Ecopa Stadium, with NHK broadcasting it live starting at 19:25 local time. Doubling up on Nationals like this lets Japanese athletes double dip on placing points to try to get into the Paris Olympics on rankings. But between the number of people who've hit the 30:40.00 women's standard and 27:00.00 men's standard and the lopsided eight spots given away to top placers at World XC, there are only four women's spots and three men's available via rankings. Of those, three of the four women's spots and two of the three men's spots are currently occupied by top placers at December's 2023 Nationals, Ririka Hironaka , Haruka Kokai and Rino Goshima for women and Ren Tazawa and Tomoki Ota for men. The 2023 Nationals did get close to the standards, with Hironaka leading the top four women under

Goshima and Kasai Win 10000 m National Titles, Maeda Breaks U20 Asian Record

Rino Goshima and Jun Kasai stepped up with PBs to win the 2024 National Championships 10000 m titles Friday at Shizuoka's Ecopa Stadium. In the women's race, Goshima, 4th in last December's 2023 National Championships 10000 m, went out front from the start with Kenyan teammate Judy Jepngetich pacing and 2023 3rd-placer Haruka Kokai in tow. Things were never on track to hit the 30:40.00 Paris Olympics standard, but except for a brief dip to 3:08 at 7000 m Goshima held steady at 3:05 to 3:06/km even as Kokai and Jepngetich fell off. With blood dripping from her left knee after getting spiked by Jepngetich, Goshima closed in 3:03 to take 5 seconds off her best from December's Nationals and win in 30:53.31, moving up to all-time Japanese #6. Jepngetich also PBd at 31:09.42 without counting in the standings, with Kokai 2nd in 31:10.53 and Kazuna Kanetomo 3rd in a PB 31:59.29. The runner-up last time, Yuka Takashima was last in 33:33.27. The men's race went out in a

Weekend Track and Road Roundup

The Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon aside, a quick roundup of results from this past weekend: At the Nittai University Time Trials , aka the Nittaidai Challenge Games, Shadrack Kipkemei (Nihon Univ.) led a great men's 10000 m A-heat in 27:20.05, with the top six men all going under 27:28. James Mutuku (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) was the only other collegiate runner among them at 3rd in 27:23.09, with 2:06 marathoner Hidekazu Hijikata (Asahi Kasei) the top Japanese finisher at 8th in 28:23.27. Mutuku's YGU teammate Brian Kipyegon won the 5000 m A-heat in 13:30.88, James Karuri (Aomori Yamada H.S.) next in 13:33.67 and Kaisei Okada (Chuo Univ.) 3rd in 13:48.44. Soya Katayama (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) had the fastest 1500 m with a 3:46.19 to win the A-heat. In the women's races at Nittai, Tabitha Njeri Kamau (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) was the only one to clear 16 minutes in the 5000 m A-heat, running 15:27.12 for the win. Lucy Nduta (Aomori Yamada H.S.) was likewise the only one u

japan running news

Search This Blog