Tatyana Tomashova: Russian distance runner stripped of medals and banned for 10 years for doping offences

Tatyana Tomashova, a Russian distance runner who competed at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics, has been penalised after she after tested positive for anabolic steroids in 2021.

As a result, Tomashova has been stripped of the silver medal that she won in 2012 and has received a ban of 10 years from competing in athletics events. The latter punishment is unlikely to affect her particularly deeply - she is no longer an active competitor in athletics, given her age of 49. As things stand, she will retain her silver medal from the 2004 games.

The women's 1500m final at London 2012 has since been described as the ‘dirtiest race in history’ due to the number of competitors who subsequently tested positive for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). Six of the 12 competitors who finished the race failed drugs tests afterwards, with Tomashova being among them. Five of the six have been banned.

Lisa Dobriskey, one of Team GB’s two representatives in the race alongside Laura Weightman, finished 10th in the race. She immediatedly and publicly aired her concerns, mentioning in a post-race interview that ‘I don't believe I'm competing on a level playing field.’

In a post on Instagram after news of Tomashova’s ban became public, Weightman made a post on her official Instagram page, which reads: “11th to 6th in the years since the London 2012 final. Hard to comprehend. I'll always be proud of my career and showing what is possible running clean.”

The four other athletes in the race who received bans were: Asli Cakir Alptekin (Turkey), Gamze Bulut (Turkey), Natallia Kareiva (Belarus) and Ekaterina Kostetskaya (Russia). Maryam Yusuf Jamal, who originally finished third in the race, subsequently received a gold medal after the two racers who finished ahead of her (Alptekin and Bulut) were hit with anti-doping bans and stripped of their medals. Abeba Aregawi of Ethiopia, who originally finished sixth but will now receive a silver medal due to Tomashova’s ban, had an anti-doping violation in 2016 but was not banned.