Olympic Gold Medalists Among Four Russians Facing New Doping Charges

March 27, 2020 20:27 GMT

Two Olympic gold medalists are among four Russian track-and-field athletes charged with fresh doping offenses.

Andrei Silnov, the 2008 Olympic high-jump champion, and Natalya Antyukh, the 2012 winner in the 400-meter hurdles, are facing charges of using a prohibited substance or method.

The charges are based on an investigation into Russian doping for the World Anti-Doping Agency presented in 2016 by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said on March 27.

Silnov was the senior vice president of the Russian track federation until June 2019, when he stepped down citing an investigation by the AIU into his conduct. The AIU said his case included suspicions of using a banned steroid.

The other two Russian athletes charged are middle-distance runner Yelena Soboleva and retired hammer thrower Oksana Kondratyeva.

All cases will be decided by the Court of Arbitration for Sport but hearing dates are yet to be set.

© RFE/RL 2020

3 comments

    • This is from another article, had to smile when I saw it.

      “— Russian anti-doping agency RUSADA said it was temporarily halting all testing in response to government measures aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.”

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