A global sporting tribunal opened the door wider to Russian participation at the Rio Olympic Games yesterday, ruling that an Olympic ban on two Russian rowers and a swimmer with histories of doping was unenforceable.
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Stepanova had been cleared to compete by the world athletics federation, which praised her courage in the affair, but the International Olympic Committee refused to allow her to run in Rio due to her own doping past.
Yulia Efimova will be competing at the Olympics after all.
Meldonium was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances from January 1, but some positive tests were later overturned after the agency said there was a lack of clear scientific evidence about how long it takes for the drug to be excreted from the body.
That result was placed on hold while WADA does further studies on the drug, which was added to the banned list at the start of the year.
Efimova was one of a number of Russians who successfully appealed, arguing that after serving previous doping bans they should not be punished again by being excluded from Rio. She finished 26th overall and failed to advance to the semifinals.
The IOC has also cleared other Russian swimmers – Yuliya Yefimova and Natalya Lovtsova, Darya Ustinova, Mikhail Dovganyuk, and Anastasia Krapivina – for taking part in the Olympics.
Canadian swimmer Ryan Cochrane also expressed unhappiness at the decision.
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After the prelims of the men’s 400 freestyle, Australia’s Mack Horton took a shot at Chinese star Sun Yang, who served a three-month suspension for using a banned stimulant in 2014.
