In the first semi, the race was stringing out behind a last lap charge by Ethiopian-born Bahraini Mimi Belete chased by Aslı Çakır Alptekin, the two leaders looking to be sure qualifiers.

At the head of the final straight Alptekin passed Belete for the lead and Belete wilted, falling back through the field and changing the dynamic of the rush for qualifying positions, giving Shannon Rowbury a qualifying spot, while Hilary Stellingwerff and Corinna Harrer had to hope the second semi would go slowly.

Abeba Aregawi stayed on Bulut's shoulder and sprinted past with 200 to go, stringing out the field, leaving reigning world champion Jennifer Simpson behind.

Moments after the bell, Aregawi passed behind Morgan Uceny, who stumbled, her knee meeting the back-kick of Yekaterina Kostetskaya.

Great Britain's Lisa Dobriskey, who finished 10th, told BBC Radio 5 Live immediately after the race, "I don't believe I'm competing on a level playing field."

[13] On 28 July 2014, IAAF announced that 9th-place finisher Yekaterina Kostetskaya was sanctioned for doping after her biological passport had showed abnormalities.

[16] On 1 June 2016, Turkish media reported that Gamze Bulut had also been found to have employed illegal performance enhancing methods by dint of observations of her athlete 'passport'.

[17] The IAAF sanctioned her in March 2017 by four year ineligibility and a disqualification since July 2011[18] In a 2017 story for ESPN, American competitor Shannon Rowbury, who finished sixth, said that she suspected that several of her opponents were using performance-enhancing drugs, but according to the story's writer Doug Williams "felt powerless to challenge other runners, even after the race" and "It's a bit mind-blowing to think that half of the field shouldn't have been there to begin with.

[20] In 2016, the IAAF reported that Ethiopian runner Abeba Aregawi, who initially finished the final in fifth place, had also failed a drug test,[21] though she was reinstated in July.

Belarusian runner Natallia Kareiva, who finished seventh in the final, received a two-year ban in 2014 for doping after her biological passport showed abnormalities.

[19] In 2017, the IOC officially reassigned the gold medal to Maryam Yusuf Jamal, but pending the outcome of anti-doping proceedings against several lower-placed finishers the silver and bronze remained vacant.

[23][failed verification] However, in early September 2024, the CAS banned Tomashova for 10 years as a doping penalty following re-testing of her samples and stripped her of the silver medal.