Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa (born 20 May 1984) is a Kenyan-born Bahraini

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

who specialises in

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

running. Having switched countries in 2013, she is the Bahraini record holder with 2:21:17 hours for the distance, set in 2017 at

Nagoya Women's Marathon The , named until the 2010 race, is an annual marathon race for female runners over the classic distance of 42 km and 195 metres, held in Nagoya, Japan in early March every year. It holds World Athletics Platinum road race status. It ...

. She was the silver medallist in the marathon at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. At the start of her career, she represented Kenya at the

IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics The IAAF U18 Championships in Athletics (until 2015 known as IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics) was a global athletics event comprising track and field events for competitors who were 17 or younger (youth = Under-18). The event was orga ...

over

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

. She changed to

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...

and reached the top level of the sport in 2012 after moving up to the marathon distance. Her husband, Joshua Kiprugut Kemei, is also a long-distance runner.Kenyan couple win Rio half marathon
''USA Today'' (22 August 2010). Retrieved on 2 October 2014. The couple have one son. Kirwa was suspended in May 2019 after failing a doping test.

Career

Kirwa made her international debut for Kenya at the age of fifteen at the inaugural

1999 World Youth Championships in Athletics The 1999 World Youth Championships in Athletics was the first edition of the IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics. It was held in Bydgoszcz, Poland from July 16 to July 18, 1999. Results Boys Girls Medal table External links Offic ...

. She finished fifth over

at the competition, while her compatriot Sylvia Kibet took silver. She returned to the distance at the

2001 World Youth Championships in Athletics The 2001 World Youth Championships in Athletics was the second edition of the World Youth Championships in Athletics. It was held in Debrecen, Hungary 12–15 July 2001. Results Boys Girls Medal table References External links results< ...

but did not make the final on that occasion. She did not compete at major events over the next few years and tried out the

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

instead. She was runner-up at the 2004 North Rift Championships in the 2000 m steeplechase, then came third in the 3000 m version at the

Kenyan Athletics Championships The Kenyan Athletics Championships is an annual track and field meeting which serves as Kenya's national championships for the sport. Athletics Kenya, the country's governing body for athletics organises the event. The championships is usually hel ...

later that year. Failing to make the transition to senior success on the track, she switched to

around 2006 and began competing on the circuit in North America. Her best result that year was a run of 32:52 minutes over a

10K run 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

in Toronto. A Brazilian tour in 2008 saw her in the top two in all her races, including a best of 75:00 minutes at the São Paulo Half Marathon. She returned to the country the following year to set a best of 73:34 minutes in São Paulo and win the Rio de Janeiro Half Marathon.Eunice Jepkirui
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2 October 2014. In 2010, she and her husband Joshua Kiprugut Kemei were a victorious couple at the Rio de Janeiro race. She had a third straight victory at the competition in 2011, setting a new best of 70:29 minutes in the process. Kirwa established herself among the world's elite road runners in her late twenties. At the Azkoitia-Azpeitia Half Marathon in March 2012 she knocked almost two minutes off her personal best to win the race in a time of 68:39 minutes.Eunice Kirwa
.

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was i ...

. Retrieved on 2 October 2014. This was the fastest time ever recorded in Spain over that distance. Heading to Brazil in May, she set a 10K best of 31:57 minutes. She made her debut over the full

distance in August that year, winning on her first attempt – her time of 2:33:42 hours in

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

was the fastest ever on Paraguayan soil. The 2012

Amsterdam Marathon The Amsterdam Marathon (branded TCS Amsterdam Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon (42.195 km) in Amsterdam in the Netherlands since 1975. The road race has a Platinum Label from World Athletics. During the event, there a ...

marked a significant breakthrough: in the top level marathon she kept pace with

Meseret Hailu Meseret Hailu Debele (born 12 September 1990) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in half marathons and marathons. She was the gold medallist at the 2012 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and won the Amsterdam Marathon that same ...

for most of the race and, after falling behind in their duel, she eventually finished in second place. Kirwa's time of 2:21:41 hours was quicker than the previous course record and ranked her 16th worldwide that year (by far her highest career ranking). Kirwa began 2013 at the

Xiamen Marathon The Xiamen International Marathon () is an annual marathon race held in January in the coastal city of Xiamen in Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It is one of the prominent marathon races of the year. More than 50,000 runners took p ...

and placed a comfortable second behind Fatuma Sado. Her best outing of the season followed at the

Paris Marathon The Paris Marathon (french: Marathon de Paris) is an annual marathon hosted by the city of Paris, France. It is the marathon with the second-most finishers in the world, behind the New York City Marathon. The marathon begins along the Champs ...

, where she ran 2:23:34 hours for third place (ranking within the top twenty for that year). In the half marathon she was runner-up on three straight occasions: in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

(ten seconds behind world champion

Edna Kiplagat Edna Ngeringwony Kiplagat (born 15 November 1979) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She was the 2011 and 2013 World Champion in the marathon. She established herself as an elite marathon runner with wins at the Los Angeles and New ...

Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku ...

(six seconds behind course record-breaker

Mestawet Tufa Mestawet Tufa ( Amharic: መስታወት ቱፋ; born 14 September 1983 in Arsi) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. She was the winner of the women's 10,000 metres at the 2007 All-Africa Games and the runner up in the senior women's race at th ...

), and

Luanda Luanda () is the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seaport ...

. Her last race of the year was the

Frankfurt Marathon The Frankfurt Marathon (official name as of 2016: Mainova Frankfurt Marathon, until 2015: BMW Frankfurt Marathon, until 2010: Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon) is a marathon which has taken place every year in Frankfurt am Main since its inception i ...

, but another sub-2:24 run was only enough for fifth. Determined to compete in international competition, in December 2013 she transferred her eligibility to Bahrain, a rich Middle-East state. She became able to run for her adopted nation in July 2014. Kirwa entered the 2014 Boston Marathon, but for the first time she failed to finish the distance. She won the second marathon of her career in June, taking the top honours at the Lanzhou Marathon with a course record of 2:31:53 hours and a winning margin of over six minutes. A win at the Luanda Half Marathon in 68:31 minutes marked a personal best and lifted her into the top ten runners for that year. On her international debut for Bahrain, she came away with the marathon gold medal at the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games ( ko, 2014년 아시아 경기대회/2014년 아시안 게임, Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 17th Asian Games ( ko, 제17회 아시아 경기대회/제17회 ...

, beating Japan's

Ryoko Kizaki Ryoko Kizaki ( ja, 木崎良子; born 21 June 1985) is a Japanese long-distance runner who competes in marathon and half marathon races. She won the 2011 Yokohama Women's Marathon in a personal best time of 2:26:32 hours. She is a three-time p ...

in the final section of the race. This made her Bahrain's first ever winner in the event at the competition.Mulkeen, Jon (2 October 2014)
Two Asian records broken on a fantastic day for China at the Asian Games
IAAF. Retrieved on 2 October 2014.

Doping ban

Kirwa was suspended in May 2019 after she tested positive for the banned blood-boosting hormone

Erythropoietin Erythropoietin (; EPO), also known as erythropoetin, haematopoietin, or haemopoietin, is a glycoprotein cytokine secreted mainly by the kidneys in response to cellular hypoxia; it stimulates red blood cell production (erythropoiesis) in the bo ...

(EPO). She was the second Olympic marathon medalist from the 2016 games to fail a doping test after the gold medalist

Jemima Sumgong Jemima Jelagat Sumgong (born 21 December 1984) is a Kenyan long-distance runner specialising in marathon races. She has won the London, Rotterdam and Las Vegas Marathons, and has finished runner-up at the Boston, Chicago and New York City Ma ...

International competitions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirwa, Eunice Jepkorir Living people 1984 births Bahraini female long-distance runners Bahraini female marathon runners Kenyan female long-distance runners Kenyan female marathon runners Kenyan female steeplechase runners Asian Games gold medalists for Bahrain Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Asian Games Kenyan emigrants to Bahrain Naturalized citizens of Bahrain World Athletics Championships athletes for Bahrain World Athletics Championships medalists Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Bahrain Foreign-born athletes of Bahrain Olympic silver medalists for Bahrain Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games