In yet another twist to the ongoing saga that has clouded the 2016 Rio Olympics, IAAF, changed course and withdrew the exemption that had allowed Darya Klishina to escape the blanket ban on Russia’s track and field team competing.
Klishina had initially been allowed to compete because she lived and was tested in the United States. The IAAF’s ban was related primarily to reports that the Russian athletes had been part of a systematic attempt to circumvent anti-doping tests.
Klishinia immediately appeared to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which said it will rule by Monday, which is the first day the 25 year-old long jumper is scheduled to compete.
On her Facebook page, Klishnia said earlier today:
I am appealing today’s decision by the IAAF Doping Review Board to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Ad Hoc division in Rio) to ban me from the Rio Olympics and other IAAF sanctioned events thereafter. I am seeking an emergency hearing this weekend for a decision to be made as soon as possible by the highest court in sports about my eligibility in Rio.
I am a clean athlete and have proved that already many times and beyond any doubt. Based in the US for three years now, I have been almost exclusively tested outside of the Anti-Doping system in question. I am falling victim to those who created a system of manipulating our beautiful sport and is guilty of using it for political purposes.
I will take every possible effort to protect my clean image as an athlete. At this moment I cannot 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.
This revocation of the exemption comes after a tumultuous week in swimming that saw Russian swimmers like Vlad Morozov and Yulia Efimova the center of a lot controversy, both in the swimming community, and in the wider sporting world. Morozov had been banned from competing in Rio after apparently being named in the McLaren Report, but was then cleared to compete. He argued publicly that he trained mostly in the United States and had no positive tests, despite being tested by the USADA. Efimova has previously been suspended for doping-related offenses, and faced criticism from other swimmers after being allowed to compete in Rio.
