Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's 1500 metres

Women's 1500 metres
at the Games of the XXX Olympiad
Venue Olympic Stadium
Date 6–10 August
Competitors 46 from 26 nations
Winning time 4:10.23
Medalists
1st, gold medalist(s) Maryam Yusuf Jamal[1]  Bahrain
2nd, silver medalist(s) Vacant
3rd, bronze medalist(s) Vacant

The women's 1500 metres competition was an event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. The competition was held at the Olympic Stadium from 6–10 August.[2] The top two finishers were later found to have used prohibited drugs during this period, and subsequently disqualified.

Summary

The qualifying rounds were typically strategic, with the second heat notably slower than the first and third. Notable for not qualifying was world championship bronze medalist (and 2009 first finisher) Natalia Rodríguez and Genzebe Dibaba, younger sister of 10000 metres gold medalist Tirunesh Dibaba.

The semifinals were similarly inconsistent. In the first semi, the race was stringing out behind a last lap charge by Ethiopian born Bahraini Mimi Belete chased by Aslı Çakır Alptekin, the two leaders looking to be sure qualifiers. At the head of the final straight Alptekin passed Belete for the lead and Belete wilted, falling back through the field and changing the dynamic of the rush for qualifying positions, giving Shannon Rowbury a qualifying spot, while Hilary Stellingwerff and Corinna Harrer had to hope the second semi would go slowly. It didn't. Instead the second semi final went out significantly faster with Tatyana Tomashova pushing the pace after the first 200 metres. With 600 to go, Gamze Bulut passed Tomashova to accelerate the pace further. Abeba Aregawi stayed on Bulut's shoulder and sprinted past with 200 to go, stringing out the field, leaving reigning world champion Jennifer Simpson behind.

The final started out slowly, none of the entrants wanting to take the lead. By default Bulut and Maryam Yusuf Jamal found themselves in the lead, Jamal noticeably looking around for someone else to take the pace. The first lap was 1:15.12, literally a jog for athletes of this caliber. The second lap slightly faster, reached in 2:23.97. The two shared the leading duties until the bell, then both accelerated, with the field swarming to join them. Moments after the bell, Aregawi passed behind Morgan Uceny, who stumbled, her knee meeting the back-kick of Yekaterina Kostetskaya. Just like her experience in the 2011 World Championships, Uceny found herself on the ground as the field was sprinting away from her, leaving her in tears. Alptekin passed Bulut with 300 to go. Aregawi joined the lead group on the back stretch with Jamal and Bulut all jockeying for position behind Alptekin. Coming onto the home stretch Jamal looked like she was in position to move past Alptekin, but she never gained enough. Aregawi edged past Jamal with Bulut trying to close the gap. 20 metres before the finish Aregawi suddenly slowed as she was passed by Jamal at the same time as Bulut passed them both.[3]

Doping and aftermath

Suspicions about the race's legitimacy with regard to doping emerged almost immediately. Great Britain's Lisa Dobriskey, who finished 10th, felt fewer qualms about voicing her suspicions, telling reporters immediately after the race, "I don't believe I'm competing on a level playing field." While refusing to accuse any specific athlete of PED use, Dobriskey added that "People will be caught eventually, I think. Fingers crossed, anyway."

In May 2013, several news organizations reported that winner Aslı Çakır Alptekin had tested positive for a banned substance.[4][5] As her second doping offense, she would face a lifetime ban if found guilty and be stripped of her gold medal. Neither the IAAF nor WADA made an official confirmation of the positive drug test.[6] On 28 July 2014, IAAF announced that 9th-place finisher Ekaterina Kostetskaya was sanctioned for doping after her biological passport had showed abnormalities. Her result was disqualified.[7]

On 17 August 2015, the Court of Arbitration for Sport approved a settlement agreed to by Alptekin and the IAAF. Alptekin agreed to give up her 1500 m Olympic title and serve an eight-year ban for blood doping.[8] There was no confirmation from the IOC whether the medals would be redistributed.[9]

On 1 June 2016, Turkish media reported that Gamze Bulut had also been found to have employed illegal performance enhancing methods by dint of observations of her athlete 'passport'. It was reported that, if confirmed, Bulut would lose her Olympic and European medals, and all medals and records from 2012 to 2016.[10] IAAF sanctioned her on March 2017 by four year inegibility and a disqualification since July 2011[11]

In a 2017 story for U.S. sports media giant ESPN, American competitor Shannon Rowbury, who finished sixth, indicated she suspected that several of her opponents were using performance-enhancing drugs, but according to the story's writer Doug Williams "felt powerless to challenge other runners, even after the race." and "It's a bit mind-blowing to think that half of the field shouldn't have been there to begin with."[12]

Fourth-place runner Tatyana Tomashova received a two-year ban from 2008–2010 for manipulating doping samples.[13] In 2016, the IAAF reported that Ethiopian runner Abeba Aregawi, who initially finished the final in fifth place, had also failed a drug test,[14] though she was reinstated in July.

Belarusian runner Natallia Kareiva, who finished seventh in the final, received a two-year ban in 2014 for doping after her biological passport showed abnormalities. This voided her result from the 2012 Olympics.[15]

Russian runner Yekaterina Kostetskaya was also sanctioned for doping in 2014, disqualifying her initial ninth-place finish.[7]

These developments meant that six of the race's top nine finishers were linked to PED usage. The aforementioned ESPN story called the race "one of the dirtiest in Olympic history."[12]

In 2017, the IOC officially reassigned the gold medal to Maryam Yusuf Jamal, but pending the outcome of anti-doping proceedings against several lower-placed finishers the silver and bronze remain vacant.

Competition format

The women's 1500 m competition consisted of heats (round 1), semifinals and a final. The first 6 competitors in each heat of round 1 along with the next six fastest overall qualified for the semifinals.[16] In the semifinals the first five in each heat along with the next two fastest overall qualified for the final. There was a tie for the 12th fastest overall time and both athletes qualified for the final, making a total of 13 athletes.[17]

Records

Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.

World record  Qu Yunxia (CHN) 3:50.46 Beijing, China 11 September 1993
Olympic record  Paula Ivan (ROU) 3:53.96 Seoul, South Korea 26 September 1988
2012 World leading  Mariem Alaoui Selsouli (MAR) 3:56.15 Paris, France 6 July 2012

Schedule

All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)

Date Time Round
Monday, 6 August 201211:45Round 1
Wednesday, 8 August 201219:45Semifinals
Friday, 10 August 201220:55Finals

Results

Round 1

Qual. rule: first 6 of each heat (Q) plus the 6 fastest times (q) qualified.

Heat 1

RankAthleteNationalityTimeNotes
1Abeba Aregawi Ethiopia4:04.55Q
2Tatyana Tomashova Russia4:05.10Q
3Maryam Yusuf Jamal Bahrain4:05.39Q
4Hellen Onsando Obiri Kenya4:05.40Q
5Hannah England Great Britain4:05.73Q
6Hilary Stellingwerff Canada4:05.79Q
7Shannon Rowbury United States4:06.03q
8Lucy van Dalen New Zealand4:07.04q
9Lucia Klocova Slovakia4:07.79q, NR
10Corinna Harrer Germany4:07.83q
11Marina Munćan Serbia4:11.25
12Tereza Capkova Czech Republic4:12.15
13Anzhelika Shevchenko Ukraine4:12.97
14Natalia Rodríguez Spain4:16.18
15Tuğba Karakaya Turkey4:29.21
N/ABtissam Lakhouad MoroccoN/ADNF

Heat 2

RankAthleteNationalityTimeNotes
1Lisa Dobriskey Great Britain4:13.32Q
2Siham Hilali Morocco4:13.34Q
N/A DSQAslı Çakır Alptekin Turkey4:13.64 Q
3Nuria Fernández Spain4:13.72Q
4Kaila McKnight Australia4:13.80Q
5Jennifer Simpson United States4:13.81Q
N/A DSQEkaterina Martynova[18] Russia4:13.86
6Genzeb Shumi Bahrain4:14.02
7Meskerem Assefa Ethiopia4:15.52
8Eunice Jepkoech Sum Kenya4:16.95
9Sonja Roman Slovenia4:19.17
10Eliane Saholinirina Madagascar4:19.46
11Renata Pliś Poland4:19.62
12Chancel Ilunga Sankuru Democratic Republic of the Congo5:05.25
N/AIngvill Makestad Bovim NorwayN/ADNS

Heat 3

RankAthleteNationalityTimeNotes
N/A DSQGamze Bulut Turkey4:06.69 Q
1Morgan Uceny United States4:06.87Q
N/A DSQNatallia Kareiva Belarus4:06.87 Q, SB
N/A DSQYekaterina Kostetskaya Russia4:06.94 Q
2Mimi Belete Bahrain4:07.01Q, SB
3Laura Weightman Great Britain4:07.29Q
4Nicole Sifuentes Canada4:07.65q
5Zoe Buckman Australia4:07.83q
6Faith Kipyegon Kenya4:08.78
7Genzebe Dibaba Ethiopia4:11.15
8Janet Achola Uganda4:11.64
9Isabel Macías Spain4:13.07
10Anna Mishchenko Ukraine4:13.63
11Betlhem Desalegn United Arab Emirates4:14.07
12Gladys Landaverde El Salvador4:18.26NR

Semifinals

Qual. rule: first 5 of each semifinal (Q) plus the 2 fastest times (q) qualified.

Heat 1

RankAthleteNationalityTimeNotes
N/A DSQAslı Çakır Alptekin Turkey4:05.11 Q
N/A DSQYekaterina Kostetskaya Russia4:05.32 Q
1Morgan Uceny United States4:05.34Q
2Lisa Dobriskey Great Britain4:05.35Q
3Shannon Rowbury United States4:05.47Q
4Hilary Stellingwerff Canada4:05.57
5Corinna Harrer Germany4:05.70
6Mimi Belete Bahrain4:05.91SB
7Hannah England Great Britain4:06.35
8Nuria Fernandez Spain4:06.57SB
9Lucy van Dalen New Zealand4:06.97
10Kaila McKnight Australia4:08.44

Heat 2

RankAthleteNationalityTimeNotes
1Abeba Aregawi Ethiopia4:01.03Q
N/A DSQGamze Bulut Turkey4:01.18 Q, PB
2Tatyana Tomashova Russia4:02.10Q
3Maryam Yusuf Jamal Bahrain4:02.18Q, SB
4Hellen Onsando Obiri Kenya4:02.30Q
N/A DSQNatallia Kareiva Belarus4:02.37 q, PB
5Laura Weightman Great Britain4:02.99q, PB
6Lucia Klocova Slovakia4:02.99q, NR
7Siham Hilali Morocco4:04.79
8Zoe Buckman Australia4:05.03PB
9Nicole Sifuentes Canada4:06.33
10Jennifer Simpson United States4:06.89

Finals

RankAthleteNationalityTimeNotes[9]
N/A DSQAslı Çakır Alptekin Turkey4:10.23 Disqualified
N/A DSQGamze Bulut Turkey4:10.40 Disqualified
1st, gold medalist(s)Maryam Yusuf Jamal Bahrain4:10.74
2Tatyana Tomashova Russia4:10.90
3Abeba Aregawi Ethiopia4:11.03
4Shannon Rowbury United States4:11.26
N/A DSQNatallia Kareiva Belarus4:11.58 Disqualified
5Lucia Klocová Slovakia4:12.64
N/A DSQYekaterina Kostetskaya Russia4:12.90 Disqualified
6Lisa Dobriskey Great Britain4:13.02
7Laura Weightman Great Britain4:15.60
8Hellen Onsando Obiri Kenya4:16.57
N/AMorgan Uceny United StatesN/ADNF

References

  1. Mallon, Bill (26 Sep 2017). "2008-12 OLYMPIC DOPING RE-TEST – AN UPDATE-UPDATE". Retrieved 2017-10-16.
  2. "Athletics". London2012.com.
  3. "The XXX Olympic Games Olympic Games". IAAF.org.
  4. Hart, Simon (3 May 2013). "Turkish Olympic champion Cakir Alptekin dopes positive". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2013-05-04.
  5. "Asli Cakir Alptekin Charged With Doping". The New York Times. 3 May 2013.
  6. "Women's Olympic 1500 Champ Reportedly Fails Drug Test". Runner's World.
  7. 1 2 "List of athletes currently serving a period of ineligibility as a result of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation under IAAF Rules". IAAF. 28 July 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  8. "Turkey's Asli Cakir Alptekin stripped of Olympic 1500m title for doping". TheGuardian.com. 17 August 2015.
  9. 1 2 "1500m women results – Athletics – London 2012 Olympics". Olympic.org.
  10. Bulut to lose medals, in turkish
  11. "Newsletter 181". iaaf.org. 29 March 2017.
  12. 1 2 Williams, Doug (February 9, 2017). "'I've realized what a plague doping is in our sport'". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  13. "Seven Russians handed doping bans". BBC Sport. BBC. 20 October 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
  14. "Swedish 1500m runner Abeba Aregawi suspended after positive drugs test". TheGuardian.com. 29 February 2016.
  15. "IAAF: Doping sanctions News 156". IAAF.org.
  16. "Athletics at the 2012 London Summer Games:". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com.
  17. "Athletics at the 2012 London Summer Games". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com.
  18. "The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) issues decisions in the cases of Tatyana Chernova, Ekaterina Sharmina and Kristina Ugarova" (PDF). Court of Arbitration for Sport. 29 Nov 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
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