Sole Russian track athlete banned from Rio, quickly appeals


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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The IAAF said Saturday it has banned the only Russian in Olympic track and field from competition and that she is appealing the ruling.

The eligibility of long jumper Darya Klishina was revoked by the IAAF based on new information it received last week, spokesman Yannis Nikolaou told The Associated Press.

He would not specify what the new information is or who delivered it, though Klishina's attorney Paul Greene told the AP the case revolves around "scratch marks" on Klishina's doping sample bottles, identified as part of World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren's work.

McLaren has alleged that Russian security services were able to open supposedly tamper-proof bottles with the intent of swapping out tainted samples for clean urine, leaving behind telltale scratch marks on the glass.

"The basic idea here is that even a clean athlete like Darya is the victim of the state sponsored doping system," Greene added in a text message. "At least that's the IAAF position."

Greene said he had not seen the "underlying evidence" in confidential parts of McLaren's report.

Klishina, a former European indoor champion, previously was the only one of 68 Russians allowed to compete in the sport amid a massive doping scandal. The IAAF had accepted her application because she is based in the United States. The rest of the Russian team was banned over allegations of a widespread, state-sponsored doping program.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said it had received Klishina's appeal of the decision imposed by the IAAF's doping review board. The IOC and Russian Olympic Committee were invited to take part in the hearing. CAS said it hopes to issue its verdict by Sunday night.

"I am a clean athlete and have proved that already many times and beyond any doubt," Klishina said in a statement on her Facebook page.

"Based in the U.S. for three years now, I have been almost exclusively tested outside of the anti-doping system in question," she added, an apparent reference to the Russian anti-doping agency, which remains suspended over doping cover-ups.

"I am falling victim to those who created a system of manipulating our beautiful sport and is guilty of using it for political purposes," she said.

"I will take every possible effort to protect my clean image as an athlete," Klishina said. "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."

The president of the Russian Olympic Committee, Alexander Zhukov, condemned the IAAF decision. "Overall, all of this looks like a mockery of the athlete by the IAAF," he said in a video message posted by the Russian Olympic Committee.

The International Olympic Committee ruled out a blanket ban on Russia last month but imposed new rules which have barred some Russian athletes in various sports because their names were implicated in a report by McLaren, who alleged a major doping cover-up.

McLaren said he had received leaked emails in which senior Russian Sports Ministry officials discussed whether or not to conceal doping cases related to hundreds of athletes across dozens of Olympic and non-Olympic sports.

Some Russian athletes who were named in that report were able to regain their Olympic spots on appeal to CAS, although others were refused.

"If Darya Klishina is in the McLaren list, then the IAAF must have been aware of it for a long time," Zhukov said. "They, as I understand it, only addressed questions to Klishina on Aug. 6. She answered them, and they only took this decision today, Aug. 13. Why it couldn't have been done while all the other federations were examining the problems with athletes who were in the McLaren list is completely incomprehensible."

McLaren has said his investigation is continuing and that more athletes could be implicated as more evidence emerges.

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AP Sports Writer Stephen Wilson contributed.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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