RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Russia’s sole track and field competitor at the Rio Olympics, DaryaKlishina, has been suspended from the Games, the international athletics federation (IAAF) said on Saturday, confirming it had withdrawn her special eligibility status.
The exemption to a blanket ban on Russian competitors over allegations of state-sponsored doping had been given to the long jumper after she proved she was not involved in the system and had been subject to drug tests outside the country.
Russia’s Olympics chief Alexander Zhukov told Russian news agencies: “The situation with DaryaKlishina appears to be cynical mockery of the Russian sportswoman by the IAAF.”
A source close to the proceedings, who spoke on condition of anonymity said Klishina had been suspended as new evidence had emerged in relation to a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report, the McLaren report.
The International Association of Athletics Federations told Reuters the long jumper had taken her case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“We can confirm she is challenging our decision at CAS. This is the only information we are able to give for the moment,” an IAAF official said.
CAS said it expected to rule on her appeal either on Sunday or Monday.
The report, drafted by Canadian Richard McLaren, described what WADA said was systematic doping among Russian athletes, supported by the Russian state over several years, including at the 2014 Sochi winter Olympics.
Russia’s track and field athletes had been banned from the Olympics due to the doping scandal.Klishina’s was one of 136 appeals to the IAAF but the only one given the green light to compete in Rio.
Dmitry Shlyakhtin, president of the Russian Athletics Federation, said Russia had expected such a twist.
“This is not a normal situation, but we anticipated it. I spoke about it, that is issue with Klishinacould arise, and here it is,” he told Russia’s R-Sport news agency.
Shlyakhtin said he thought it was unlikely the long jumper’s appeal would be upheld. “In general I am cynical,” R-Sport quoted him as saying.
(Writing by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Ossian Shine and Alison Williams)