RIO DE JANEIRO-One Russian track and field athlete has been cleared to compete at the Olympics after an 11th-hour appeal filed by long jumper Darya Klishina was upheld by sport’s highest court early Monday.
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Klishina had been the only track and field athlete cleared to compete for Russian Federation in Brazil following a widespread ban on its athletes amid claims of state-run doping.
Klishina had been given an exemption to compete in Rio as a neutral athlete after Russia’s athletics squad was banned from the Games following revelations of state-backed doping in the country.
“Relevantly, the athlete established that she was subject to fully compliant drug-testing in and out of competition outside of Russian Federation for the “relevant period”.
Athletics – 58th Brothers Znamensky Memorial track and field meeting – Women’s long jump – Meteor Stadium, Zhukovsky, Russia, 4/6/16.
Klishina’s agent, Alexei Nikolaev, told CNN “Darya’s comprehensive statement will be coming soon on her FB and Twitter”.
Green said the IAAF was unlikely to open a case against Klishina after the Olympics.
CAS, however, concluded that Klishina “complied with the relevant criteria because of her permanent residence outside Russian Federation. despite the additional information provided by Prof”.
Klishina expressed her relief in a post on Facebook, and said she was relieved to only have the long jump competition to focus on.
“The Court of Arbitration for Sport set aside the IAAF decision and confirmed that I am a clean athlete who remains eligible to compete under IAAF rules in the Olympic Games and other worldwide competitions”.
Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko welcomed the decision, saying “you can not punish her for what she did not do”.
According to the statement, the IAAF’s Doping Review Board determined that the athlete (Klishina) “was directly affected and tainted” by a state-organized doping scheme described in a report for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
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The sanction was upheld for the Olympics by CAS last month.
