Olympic champion high jumper from Russian Federation among suspected dopers, report says

“The ROC has received official documents from the IOC (International Olympic Committee) notifying that A tests for 14 Russian athletes in three sport varieties, taken at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, came back positive after re-examination”, the ROC said in a statement.

The news comes after the International Olympic Committee said last week that 31 athletes could be banned from the Rio 2016 Olympics after retesting 454 doping samples from 2008.

The country’s track and field athletes have been suspended since November after an worldwide investigation uncovered damning evidence of doping and corruption.

The IOC said the retests targeted athletes who competed in Beijing or London and were hoping to participate in Rio in August. “I can’t explain how it could have happened”, said Chicherova.

State-owned Match TV named 11 Russian athletics stars including Yuliya Chermoshanskaya, a member of the gold medal winning 4×100 metres relay quartet, and Beijing bronze medal winning high jumper Anna Chicherova, who won London 2012 gold four years later.

On May 20, the Kremlin backed a plan to present the legislation to the Russian State Duma, Mutko said.

The tests focused on those athletes who are expected to go to Rio this summer.

Meanwhile, Russia is to bring in legislation that will mean individuals found guilty of doping are punished under the country’s criminal code, according to Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko.

While the statement did not include any names, two-time Olympic medalist Anna Chicherova is on the list, her coach told Russian media on Tuesday.

Sayers said that she would be “happy” to be awarded the bronze medal retrospectively, but added that she would be “immensely angry” at missing out on the medal ceremony and standing on the podium.

Most of the suspected Russian athletes competed in track and field, Tass reported.

Russia’s Olympic fate remains in question, with world athletics’ governing body, the IAAF, set to decide in June whether Russian Federation has done enough to be readmitted to competition and the Rio Games. “There will be criticism whatever we do”, he said. Formal positive cases are not declared until the “B” samples are also tested and confirm the original findings.

“Any athletes found cheating should face corresponding sanctions”.