Inga Eduardovna Abitova (, born 6 March 1982 in

Novokuybyshevsk Novokuybyshevsk () is a city in Samara Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern bank of the Volga River, away from it. Population: History During the Russian Civil War, the area where the city now stands was a place of ferocious battles with the ...

) is a Russian long-distance runner, who specializes in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

and the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), 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 ...

. She was the 2006 European Champion in the 10,000 m and reached the final at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Doping

In 2012, she was given a two-year ban for breaking anti-doping regulations. The reason given was an "abnormal haemoglobin profile in her

biological passport An athlete biological passport is an individual electronic record for professional athletes, in which profiles of biological markers of doping and results of doping tests are collated over a period of time. Doping violations can be detected by ...

". Her competition results will be annulled, beginning 10 October 2009 and her suspension began on 11 October 2012. In May 2016, it was reported that Abitova was one of 14 Russian athletes, implicated in doping following the retesting of urine from the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

. Abitova was named by Russian press agency

TASS The Russian News Agency TASS, or simply TASS, is a Russian state-owned news agency founded in 1904. It is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide. TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterpri ...

as having failed the retest, which was undertaken following the Russian doping scandal of 2015 and 2016. If confirmed, under IOC and IAAF rules, she stands to lose all results, medals and records from the date of the original test to May 2016. Her doping offence was confirmed on 13 September.

Career

As a junior athlete Abitova finished eleventh in the

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...

at the 1999 World Youth Championships. She began

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...

and – after taking part in the 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – she took fourth place in the junior race at the 2005 European Cross Country Championships, helping the Russian junior team to a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

. She won the Belgrade Marathon in 2005, finishing in 2:38:20, and ran at the 2005 European Cross Country Championships, taking seventh place and leading the Russian women to a team gold. In 2006, she became European champion over the 10,000 metres at the 2006 European Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden. Her winning time of 30:31.42 minutes meant a new personal best for her and the seventh-best time ever run by a

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an woman. Abitova won the 10,000 m at the 2007 Russian Championships. She later finished twelfth at the 2007 World Championships and sixth at the

. The following year she ran at the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and finished in ninth place – the best performance by a European woman. She participated in the inaugural edition of the Yokohama Women's Marathon held in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and she won the race in a time of 2:27:18. Abitova broke from the main pack at the 30 km mark and was unchallenged to the finish. Her first major race of 2010 was the

London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

and she was the runner-up behind compatriot Liliya Shobukhova, having finished the race in a time of 2:22:19. Her results from the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships onwards were subsequently annulled. Currently, she trains under Vladimir Timofeyev. She graduated from the Samara Institute of Law of the Federal Penitentiary Service.

Personal life

Abitova is married and has one son.

Competition record

References

External links