Two Russians lose world c’ships medals over doping

MOSCOW: Russian athletes Tatyana Lebedeva and Maria Abakumova have lost three world championships medals after their results were cancelled over doping, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said on Wednesday.

Lebedeva’s results from August 2008 to August 2010 were cancelled, effectively stripping her of the silver medal she won in the long jump at the 2009 world championships.The results of Abakumova, a javelin thrower, were cancelled from August 2008 to August 2012, taking away the gold and bronze medals she won at the 2011 and 2009 worlds, respectively.

Both athletes had already been disqualified from the 2008 Beijing Olympics over doping.Abakumova was a silver medallist at those Games, while Lebedeva won silver medals in the long jump and triple jump.

Russia’s athletics federation remains suspended over a 2015 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report outlining evidence of systematic, state-sponsored doping in the sport.

But some Russian athletes have been cleared by the IAAF, the global athletics body, to compete internationally as neutrals if they demonstrate that they train in a doping-free environment.The AIU was set up last year as part of IAAF’s efforts to separate itself from anti-doping and corruption in the sport.