Eunice Kirwa, the Olympic marathon silver medalist, is provisionally suspended for using EPO.
Kirwa, a 35-year-old from Bahrain (born in Kenya), finished second at the Rio Games behind Kenyan Jemima Sumgong, who is banned until 2027 for using EPO and then lying about it. Sumgong and Kirwa keep their Olympic medals because their doping violations came after the Games.
Ethiopian Mare Dibaba finished third in Rio. Shalane Flanagan, Des Linden and Amy Cragg were sixth, seventh and ninth, the first time the U.S. put three women in the top nine at an Olympics.
“After we crossed the finish line, Amy, Shalane and I sat around and chatted about the race,” Linden said in 2017, according to LetsRun.com. “I said it, like, ‘Within one year, we’ll all have bumped up two spots.’”
Kirwa, also the 2015 World Championships bronze medalist, last competed at the 2017 Worlds, where she placed sixth in the marathon.
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