Sole Russian track athlete banned from Rio, quickly appeals

Klishina insisted on social media that she was a clean athlete and said the decision, which she is appealing against at sport’s highest tribunal, was politically motivated.

“If Darya Klishina is in the McLaren list, then the IAAF must have been aware of it for a long time”, Zhukov said.

Russian athletes were suspended from worldwide competition a year ago after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) published a report which alleged “state-sponsored” doping.

Russian track and field athletes were excluded from competing at the Rio 2016 Olympics due to the disqualification of the national federation amidst allegations of a state-run doping scandal.

The Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) entertained her lawsuit against FINA (the global swimming federation) and the Russian Olympic Committee and cleared her road to Rio on August 4.

“This information was shared with her last week”.

The reports were confirmed by All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF) Dmitry Shlyakhtin, who said, “There are contradictory reports but we have confirmation from sources in Rio de Janeiro that Daria [Klishina] was banned at the last moment”, Shlyakhtin said.

The IOC reviewed all the eligibilities submitted by the federations through a three-member panel.

She has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which will rule on the case tomorrow or on Monday.

‘You always like to believe the best in people and I just hope she has a fantastic games, ‘ Rutherford said.

Klishina was cleared as she has been based in Florida since 2013 and had done several worldwide tests.

“I am falling victim to those who created a system of manipulating our lovely sport and is guilty of using it for political purposes. At this moment I can not help but feel betrayed by a system that is not focused on keeping the sport clean and supporting rank-and-file athletes, but rather seeking victories outside sport arenas”.

Russia’s sole track and field competitor at the Rio Olympics, Darya Klishina, has been suspended from the Games, a source told Reuters on Saturday.

Rio de Janeiro, Aug 11 (IANS) Russian swimmer Yuliya Yefimova, who has won silver in 100-metre breaststroke at the Rio Olympics, has said she has already taken three doping tests.

While other worldwide federations chose to decide on a case by case basis whether Russians competitors could participate in Rio, the IAAF maintained its ban on the Russian athletics federation.

“This is not a normal situation, but we anticipated it”.

“This is something the sport has to go through to put more light on this issue so that everybody is held to the same standard”, he told reporters.

Shlyakhtin said he thought it was unlikely the long jumper’s appeal would be upheld.