Russian doper Liliya Shobukhova ends Olympic comeback, retires
Russian marathoner Liliya Shobukhova has announced her retirement just one year after returning from a doping ban for EPO, according to the Russian news agency TASS.
Shobukhova, 38, ran a personal best of 2:18:20 to win the 2011 Chicago Marathon. The time made her the second fastest woman over 26.2 miles in history behind Great Britain's Paula Radcliffe, who holds the world record of 2:15:25.
"I cannot say that I became tired of sports. What I simply need now is stability and I decided to work as a coach," she told TASS.
After abnormalities in her passport were reported, Shobukhova served a three-year and two month doping ban that was later reduced to two years and seven months after she cooperated with investigators.
In her work with the World Anti-Doping Agency, Shobukhova revealed that officials from the International Association of Athletics Federation and Russia's anti-doping agency asked for several payments to cover up any evidence of her doping ahead of the 2012 Olympics in London.
Shobukhova was the winner of the Chicago Marathon from 2009 to 2011 and was also victorious at the 2010 London Marathon. Chicago and London have stripped her of her titles and have requested that she return all prize money.
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Shobukhova most recently ran a 76:30 for fifth place at the Russian National Half-Marathon Championships in September 2015.
With her suspension lifted, Shobukhova was eligible to compete at the 2016 Olympics. She initially planned to make a run for her fourth Olympic team but has not competed since the half-marathon last fall.
At the 2012 Olympics in London, she did not finish the women's marathon. She finished sixth in the 5,000-meter run at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing and 13th in the same event at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens.
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