Report: Russia Under Investigation for Another Doping Cover-Up

The Russian Athletics Federation is reportedly under investigation once again as world champion high jumper Danil Lysenko has allegedly been caught in a doping cover-up.

The Sunday Times, the same British paper that broke the most recent Sun Yang case, reported over the weekend that the Russian Athletics Federation submitted forged medical documents to falsely give Lysenko an excuse for failing to declare his whereabouts for testing last year. The documents stated that he was too unwell to keep his location updated.

Lysenko was one of the Russians cleared to compete internationally under a neutral flag by the IAAF for having demonstrated he was “training in a doping free-environment” in the run-up to Rio, according to Reuters, but he was suspended in August 2018 after failing to update his whereabouts.

“In the case of Lysenko, the Russian athletics federation is providing the Athletics Integrity Unit will full assistance,” federation president Dmitry Shlyakhtin said. “The federation has an interest in the investigation being objective.”

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) was reinstated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) following the conclusion of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeong-Chang, South Korea, and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency was controversially reinstated in September 2018, despite failing to meet all requirements set forth by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Russia remains suspended from international track and field, though the IAAF is set to meet next week about whether to lift the ban.

Russia was expected to be reinstated in time for Worlds in late September, but a continued ban could challenge the nation’s eligibility in track for both World, and perhaps also the Olympics, according to the Associated Press.

“The IAAF is sticking to the process we have followed since RUSAF was suspended,” the IAAF said. “The (IAAF’s Russia task force) will prepare a report on all relevant matters and a recommendation for the IAAF council, which will meet in Monaco on June 8 and 9.”

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2Cents
4 years ago

Thank you For that report from the field Captain Obvious… in other news, the pope is catholic and bears do in fact poop in the woods. Now to Tammy Fluffpiece on this story about how Kittens do cute things. Tammy….

Snarky
4 years ago

Ban them for 20 years. Ten would only encourage a decade of figuring out how to outpace the testers.

Hswimmer
4 years ago

Are we surprised

jinn
4 years ago

Im Russian and I hate this crap! What the hell do these people think?! Why do they still think they are the smartest?! It’s that 0.01% of idiots that ruin lives of the rest of decent professional athletes. Shame

Taa
4 years ago

His dog ate his homework.

Statguy
4 years ago

Was he in a coma?

About Torrey Hart

Torrey Hart

Torrey is from Oakland, CA, and majored in media studies and American studies at Claremont McKenna College, where she swam distance freestyle for the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps team. Outside of SwimSwam, she has bylines at Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, SB Nation, and The Student Life newspaper.

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