.jpg) Shobukhova at the 2011 London Marathon | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1977-11-13)November 13, 1977 (age 47) Beloretsk,Bashkortostan, Russia |
| Height | 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) |
| Weight | 52 kg (115 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Russia |
| Sport | Women'sathletics |
| Event | Marathon |
| Club | Bashkortostan Army |
Liliya Bulatovna Shobukhova,néeShagbalova, Divorced nameVolkova, (Russian:Лилия Булатoвнa Шoбухова (Шагбaлова) (Волкова); born 13 November 1977) is a Russianlong-distance runner who competed inmarathon races. She previously specialized in the3000 and5000 metrestrack events. She served adoping ban until 23 August 2015.[1][2]
Shobukhova started her career inmiddle-distance running in 2001 and reached the final at both theEuropean Indoor Championships andEuropean Athletics Championships in 2002. She moved on to longer distances and, two years later, she represented Russia at the2004 Athens Olympics and reached the 5000 m final.[3] She ran at the2005 World Championships in Athletics, but her first major successes came the following year when she wonsilver medals at the2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the2006 European Athletics Championships.
Shobukhova began to compete inroad races, winning the 2007Prague Half Marathon, but she still reached the 5000 m final at the2008 Beijing Olympics.[3] After running in the10,000 metres at the2009 World Championships, she focused on road races full-time. The move paid dividends for her as she won at theChicago Marathon three times straight from 2009 to 2011, as well as the2010 London Marathon.[4] Her former personal best time of 2:18:20 hours was theRussian record for the event and made her the second fastest woman ever afterPaula Radcliffe until it and all her other race results since 9 October 2009 were annulled following an adverse finding of biological passport abnormalities indicative of drug use.[5]
She is a formerworld indoor record in the 3000 m and a formerEuropean record holder in the 3000 m and 5000 m.
Shobukhova grew up in the town ofBeloretsk in the RussianRepublic of Bashkortostan.[6]
She ran aworld indoor record at the 2006 Russian championships, running a time of 8:27.86 in the 3000 m.[7] a few months later, she won asilver medal at theWorld Indoor Championships before finishing second at theEuropean Championships. She switched toroad running in 2007, winning at thePrague Half Marathon and competing at the2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships.[8]
In the 2008 Russian Championships held inKazan on 19 July 2008, she set a newEuropean 5000 m record of 14:23.75, to become the fourth fastest ever over the distance.[9][10] She was selected to represent Russia in the women's 5000 metres at the2008 Summer Olympics inBeijing.[11] After the Olympics, she won thePhiladelphia Distance Run and set ahalf marathon best of 1:10:21, beatingCatherine Ndereba to the line.[12]
In October 2009, Shobukhova was the female winner of theChicago Marathon, finishing in a time of 2:25:56.[13] Shobukhova was the femalewinner of the2010 London Marathon, finishing in a time of 2:22:00.[14]
She returned to Chicago to defend her title in October 2010 and she ran a very even pace. She overhauledAtsede Baysa in the second half of the race, as the Ethiopian struggled in the heat, and she went on to win for a second consecutive occasion with aRussian record of 2:20:25 for the marathon – becoming the tenth fastest ever. As a result of the win, she took the 2009–2010World Marathon Majors jackpot of $500,000 US dollars.[15]
She started 2011 with a Russian record performance at the London Marathon, finishing in a new personal best of 2:20:15, but she had to settle for second behindMary Keitany of Kenya.[16] In October 2011 Shobukhova started the Chicago Marathon as the heavy favorite along withEjegayehu Dibaba. After a cautious first half, she sped away to win the Chicago Marathon for the third straight time in hot weather. Her time of 2 hours, 18 minutes, and 20 seconds was a new Russian record and it made her the second fastest women's marathoner ever in history behind Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain.
One of the advantages she has over her competitors is a fast sprint finish, due to her track credentials. At the2009 Chicago Marathon, her final 2.2 km was timed at 6 minutes and 23 seconds, a 2:49 pace. This is easily one of the fastest splits ever in women's marathoning. She also sprinted away from the field at the 2010 London Marathon to win by 13 seconds, with her final 200m timed at 33 seconds.
She competed in the marathon at the2012 Summer Olympics, but failed to finish.[3] She looked to revive her season with a defence of her title at the2012 Chicago Marathon but she dropped away from the leaders in the second half of the race and finished in fourth.[17]
On April 29, 2014, theRussia Athletic Federation announced[18] that they found "abnormalities" in herbiological passport.[19] As a result, Shobukhova's race results since 9 October 2009 would be annulled and she was issued with a ban from competition for two years, with her suspension to end on 23 January 2015. Pending any appeal, she is stripped of her 2009, 2010 and 2011 Chicago Marathon victories, as well as her 2010 London Marathon win, and may be required to pay back prize money and appearance fees earned from racing.[5]Paula Radcliffe, the women's marathon world record holder, commented that Shobukhova was "finally exposed as a drug cheat. Fraud on so many levels, so much money effectively stolen in appearance fees, winnings and endorsements."[19] In August 2015 the IAAF announced that she had been banned from sports for 3 years and 2 months,[1][20] but WADA granted Shobukhova a reduction of seven months for providing information, and her sanction finished on 23 August 2015.[2]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | London Marathon | London, United Kingdom | 3rd | |
| Chicago Marathon | Chicago, United States | DQ | ||
| 2010 | London Marathon | London, United Kingdom | DQ | |
| Chicago Marathon | Chicago, United States | DQ | ||
| 2011 | London Marathon | London, United Kingdom | DQ | |
| Chicago Marathon | Chicago, United States | DQ | ||
| 2012 | Chicago Marathon | Chicago, United States | DQ |
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Women's 5000 m European Record Holder 11 June 2004 – 21 July 2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Women's 3000 m Indoor World Record Holder 17 February 2006 – 3 February 2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Women's 3000 m Indoor European Record Holder 17 February 2006 – 4 February 2017 | Succeeded by |
