Seven Russian Athletes Fail Doping Tests
What a disappointment! Seven members of the Russian Olympic team have tested positive for doping. The IAAF has been conducting an investigation for the past 18 months and have chosen to suspend the female athletes and have accused them of tampering with the urine samples.
Included in the list is Yelena Soboleva (pictured above), which is a real heartbreaker because the world record-holding, world champion middle-distance runner was favoured to win both the 800 and 1,500 metres at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
The athletes come from several disciplines, from middle-distance running to the hammer and discuss throw. Since the suspension is provisional, they could get an emergency ruling that could allow them to compete but I don’t know what their chances are.
Of course, some have questioned the timing of the suspensions since the investigation has been going on for more than a year. The track and field events begin on August 15th, which doesn’t give the athletes much time to contest the ruling. Then again, Canada’s Ben Johnson was accused of doping at the 1988 Seoul Games so I guess it could have been worse…
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POSTED IN: Athletics, Beijing 2008, Track and Field
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