The strange women's world marathon record books were made stranger after Liliya Shobukhova's number three all-time mark of 2:18:20 was removed (already deleted in Wikipedia's records, too; man, that site is fast) following irregularities in her "biological passport." A biological passport, according to Wikipedia, represents an athlete's year-by-year biological measurements related to performance. Because some athletes -- especially ones considered world-class -- have different natural levels, a passport enables officials to spot irregularities over time. Two other athletes in the last few years -- Turkey's Asli Cakir Alpetkin, the women's 1500-meter gold medalist at the 2012 Olympics, and Morocco's Abderrahim Goumri, a runner-up at the London, Chicago, and New York City Marathons -- have been busted based on their passports, according to Runner's World.

Pending an appeal, Shobukhova, of Russia, will not only lose her near-world record time -- not only have to forfeit four major marathon wins, three at Chicago and one in London -- but repay over $1 million in prize money. According to Runner's World, Shobukhova earned about a $1 million during the two years between 2009 and 2011 for winning the four marathons and the years' marathon series. Officials determined she was doping at least as far back as 2009. Her suspension is retroactive to January of 2013, presumably when her biological passport was first deemed fraudulent.

In addition to a statement from the World Marathon Majors, Nick Bitel, general counsel for the World Marathon Majors, said "WMM will continue to hold a stern line and supports all measures to ensure the integrity of the athletes competing in their races. Cheats need to understand that they are not welcome in our sport and that they will be caught."

Women's marathon world-record holder Paula Radcliffe, who's 2:15 world record in 2003 was stripped from the official books in 2011 (not because of drugs, but because the race had male pacemakers; luckily, she also had the number two all-time mark, which moved to number one) was vindicated by the announcement. Apparently, she long suspected Shobukhova of doping.

"Lilya Shobukhova finally exposed as a drug cheat," Radcliffe tweeted. "Fraud on so many levels, so much money effectively stolen in appearance fees, winnings and endorsements."

The 36 year-old's ban will hurt Shobukhova's image and finances more than future aspirations. She hasn't raced much in the last few years. Her last meaningful performance (which, according to testing, was drug-fueled) was fourth at Chicago in 2012.