Russia's Tatiana Aryasova stripped of Tokyo marathon title for doping The USA Times

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Friday, May 25, 2012

Russia's Tatiana Aryasova stripped of Tokyo marathon title for doping

(In this Feb. 27, 2011 photo, Tatiana Aryasova of Russia crosses the finish line to win the Tokyo Marathon. Aryasova has been stripped of her title after testing positive for a banned substance. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Shizuo Kambayashi)

TOKYO - Russian runner Tatiana Aryasova has been stripped of her 2011 Tokyo Marathon title after testing positive for a banned substance.

Aryasova tested positive for hydroxyethyl starch (HES) in a urine sample taken after she won the Tokyo race in two hours 27 minutes, 29 seconds on February 27.

The Tokyo Marathon Foundation stripped Aryasova of her title after she failed to challenge a two-year doping ban by the International Association of Athletics Federation during an appeal period which ended last week.

Japan's Noriko Higuchi, who finished second, was awarded the victory with a time of 2:28:49. Russia's Tatyana Petrova moved into the runner-up position after finishing with a time of 2:28:56.

The Japan Anti-Doping Agency said HES is used to conceal blood doping.