Skip to main content
Athletics

Russian athletes allowed to compete as neutrals at London championship

World champions Sergey Shubenkov and Maria Kuchina are among the seven Russian athletes cleared to compete as neutrals at the track and field championships in London this summer, even though the Russian team is banned for doping. The decision was announced by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) this Tuesday.

Russia’s Mariya Kuchina competes in the women’s high jump final at a national athletics cup in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, on July 21, 2016.
Russia’s Mariya Kuchina competes in the women’s high jump final at a national athletics cup in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, on July 21, 2016. AFP/Vasily Maximov
Advertising

The decision takes the tally of Russians granted permission by athletics' governing body to compete to 12 and was greeted with cautious optimism in Russia, with high-jump star Kuchina saying she was relishing returning to elite-level action.

"I wish to thank the Doping Review Board for their continued dedication and diligence in assessing these applications," said IAAF president Sebastian Coe, clearing the seven to take part in international competition, including the world championships in London in August.

The other Russians deemed to be drug-free were: Illia Mudrov (pole vault); Sergey Shirobokov (race walks); Daniil Tsyplakov (high jump); Olga Mullina (pole vault); and Yana Smerdova (race walks).

The Doping Review Board of the IAAF  "unanimously accepted" their applications, the IAAF said in a statement, as it attempts to clean up the sport.

Russia's athletics team was barred wholesale from the Rio Olympics last summer because of widespread doping that the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) says was state-sponsored.

Moscow has repeatedly denied allegations it was involved, but Wada has said the cheating extended to multiple Olympic sports from the Summer and Winter Games over several years.

In February the IAAF extended the ban on Russia's track and field team to the prestigious world championships this summer. Russia has been barred from international competition since November 2015.

Reigning 110 metre hurdles world champion Shubenkov was damning then of the IAAF's prolonged ban on the Russian team.

The drug-tainted RusAF, the Russian Athletics Federation, said dozens more of its athletes were hoping to make it to the London showpiece.

"It's a good sign that the IAAF has issued a decision that we have all been waiting a long time for," Maria Trushchenkova, a RusAF top official, told the AFP news agency on Tuesday. "But around 70 Russian athletes are still waiting for IAAF permission to compete as neutrals -- and we receive new bids almost every day."

Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning

Keep up to date with international news by downloading the RFI app

Share :
Page not found

The content you requested does not exist or is not available anymore.