2012 European Athletics Championships – Women's 1500 metres
The women's 1500 metres at the 2012 European Athletics Championships were held at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium on 30 June and 1 July.
The dirtiest race in history
In this race, the first four classified were disqualified for doping, meaning the medals went to the athletes who reached the finish line in 5th to 7th place.[1]
On 25 February 2016, the IAAF announced that Mischenko, the silver medal winner, had been found to have irregularities in her biological passport. She was banned from competition for two years until 17 August 2017, and all her results since June 28, 2012 were deleted from the records, including the silver medal won in this event. [2]
After the disqualifications, Nuria Fernández of Spain was declared the winner of the event.
Medalists
| Gold | Nuria Fernández Spain |
| Silver | Diana Sujew Germany |
| Bronze | Tereza Čapková Czech Republic |
Records
| Standing records prior to the 2012 European Athletics Championships | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| World record |  Qu Yunxia (CHN) |
3:50.46 | Beijing, China | 11 September 1993 |
| European record |  Tatyana Kazankina (URS) |
3:52.47 | Zürich, Switzerland | 13 August 1980 |
| Championship record |  Tatyana Tomashova (RUS) |
3:56.91 | Gothenburg, Sweden | 13 August 2006 |
| World Leading |  Abeba Aregawi (ETH) |
3:56.54 | Rome, Italy | 31 May 2012 |
| European Leading | Svetlana Podosyonova (RUS) |
3:59.61 | Moscow, Russia | 13 June 2012 |
Results
Round 1
First 4 in each heat (Q) and 4 best performers (q) advance to the Final.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DQ | 1 | Anna Mishchenko |  Ukraine | Q, Doping | |
| DQ | 1 | Aslı Çakır Alptekin |  Turkey | Q, Doping | |
| DQ | 1 | Kristina Khaleyeva | Russia | Q, Doping | |
| 2 | 1 | Isabel Macías | Spain | 4:10.06 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Tereza Čapková | Czech Republic | 4:10.22 | q |
| 4 | 1 | Diana Sujew | Germany | 4:10.72 | q |
| DQ | 2 | Ekaterina Gorbunova | Russia | Q, Doping | |
| 5 | 2 | Corinna Harrer | Germany | 4:11.59 | Q |
| DQ | 2 | Gamze Bulut | Turkey | Q, Doping | |
| 6 | 2 | Nuria Fernández | Spain | 4:11.77 | Q |
| 7 | 2 | Ingvill Måkestad Bovim |  Norway | 4:11.97 | q |
| 8 | 1 | Marina Munćan |  Serbia | 4:12.33 | q |
| 9 | 2 | Luiza Gega |  Albania | 4:12.54 | |
| 10 | 1 | Hind Dehiba |  France | 4:12.79 | SB |
| 11 | 1 | Denise Krebs | Germany | 4:12.85 | |
| 12 | 1 | Ioana Doaga |  Romania | 4:13.73 | |
| 13 | 1 | Angelika Cichocka |  Poland | 4:14.59 | |
| 14 | 2 | Johanna Lehtinen |  Finland | 4:14.83 | SB |
| 15 | 2 | Iris Fuentes-Pila | Spain | 4:15.95 | |
| 16 | 2 | Sonja Roman |  Slovenia | 4:16.68 | |
| DQ | 2 | Anzhela Shevchenko | Ukraine | Doping | |
| 17 | 1 | Ciara Mageean |  Ireland | 4:19.23 | |
| 18 | 2 | Tuğba Karakaya | Turkey | 4:19.58 | SB |
| 19 | 2 | Orla Drumm | Ireland | 4:19.61 | |
| 20 | 2 | Lidia Chojecka | Poland | 4:20.66 | |
| 1 | Charlene Thomas |  Great Britain | DQ | [3] |
Final
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DQ | Aslı Çakır Alptekin | Turkey | Doping | |
| DQ | Gamze Bulut | Turkey | Doping | |
| DQ | Anna Mishchenko | Ukraine | Doping | |
| DQ | Ekaterina Gorbunova | Russia | Doping | |
 | Nuria Fernández | Spain | 4:08.80 | SB |
 | Diana Sujew | Germany | 4:09.28 | |
 | Tereza Čapková | Czech Republic | 4:10.17 | |
| DQ | Kristina Khaleyeva | Russia | Doping | |
| 4 | Corinna Harrer | Germany | 4:10.38 | |
| 5 | Isabel Macías | Spain | 4:11.12 | |
| 6 | Ingvill Måkestad Bovim | Norway | 4:13.32 | |
| 7 | Marina Munćan | Serbia | 4:15.63 | |
References
- "The dirtiest race in history?". sportsintegrityinitiative.com. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
In this race, both Alptekin and Bulut finished first and second respectively, while the Ukraine’s Anna Mischenko, who finished third, and Russia’s Ekaterina Ishova, who finished fourth, have both since been disqualified by the IAAF for an ADRV and abnormal ABP results respectively. Should the reports around Bulut’s possible infringement prove correct, it would mean that Spain’s Nuria Fernández, who originally finished fifth, would be crowned champion.
- Positive cases in athletics iaaf.org 19 February 2016
- Stepping off the track