Shobukhova grew up in the town of Beloretsk in the Russian Republic of Bashkortostan. She ran a world indoor record at the 2006 Russian championships, running a time of 8:27.86 in the 3000 m. a few months later, she won a silver medal at the World Indoor Championships before finishing second at the European Championships. She switched to road running in 2007, winning at the Prague Half Marathon and competing at the 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships. In the 2008 Russian Championships held in Kazan on 19 July 2008, she set a new European 5000 m record of 14:23.75, to become the fourth fastest ever over the distance. She was selected to represent Russia in the women's 5000 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. After the Olympics, she won the Philadelphia Distance Run and set a half marathonbest of 1:10:21, beating Catherine Ndereba to the line. In October 2009, Shobukhova was the female winner of the Chicago Marathon, finishing in a time of 2:25:56. Shobukhova was the female winner of the 2010 London Marathon, finishing in a time of 2:22:00. She returned to Chicago to defend her title in October 2010 and she ran a very even pace. She overhauled Atsede Baysa in the second half of the race, as the Ethiopian struggled in the heat, and she went on to win for a second consecutive occasion with a Russian record of 2:20:25 for the marathon – becoming the tenth fastest ever. As a result of the win, she took the 2009–2010 World Marathon Majors jackpot of $500,000 US dollars. She started 2011 with a Russian record performance at the London Marathon, finishing in a new personal best of 2:20:15, but she had to settle for second behind Mary Keitany of Kenya. In October 2011 Shobukhova started the Chicago Marathon as the heavy favorite along with Ejegayehu Dibaba. After a cautious first half, she sped away to win the Chicago Marathon for the third straight time in hot weather. Her time of 2 hours, 18 minutes, and 20 seconds was a new Russian record and it made her the second fastest women's marathoner ever in history behind Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain. One of the advantages she has over her competitors is a fast sprint finish, due to her track credentials. At the 2009 Chicago Marathon, her final 2.2 km was timed at 6 minutes and 23 seconds, a 2:49 pace. This is easily one of the fastest splits ever in women's marathoning. She also sprinted away from the field at the 2010 London Marathon to win by 13 seconds, with her final 200m timed at 33 seconds. She competed in the marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics, but failed to finish. She looked to revive her season with a defence of her title at the 2012 Chicago Marathon but she dropped away from the leaders in the second half of the race and finished in fourth.
Doping
On April 29, 2014, the Russia Athletic Federation announced that they found "abnormalities" in her biological passport. As a result, Shobukhova's race results since 9 October 2009 would be annulled and she was issued ban from competition for two years, with her suspension to end on 23 January 2015. Pending any appeal, she is stripped of her 2009, 2010 and 2011 Chicago Marathon victories, as well as her 2010 London Marathon win, and may be required to pay back prize money and appearance fees earned from racing. Paula Radcliffe, the women's marathon world record holder, commented that Shobukhova was "finally exposed as a drug cheat. Fraud on so many levels, so much money effectively stolen in appearance fees, winnings and endorsements." In August 2015 the IAAF announced that she had been banned from sports for 3 years and 2 months, but WADA granted Shobukhova a reduction of seven months for providing information, and her sanction finished on 23 August 2015.
