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Olympic champion among 12 Russian athletes guilty of doping

Feb 1, 2019 | 10:15 AM

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Olympic high jump champion Ivan Ukhov was among 12 Russian track and field athletes found guilty Friday of taking part in state-backed doping.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Ukhov has been disqualified from the 2012 London Olympics, while hammer thrower Tatyana Lysenko and high jumper Svetlana Shkolina also have been disqualified after winning gold at the 2013 world championships.

“The procedures stem from the investigation conducted by Professor Richard McLaren, mandated by the World Anti-Doping Agency, in relation to allegations of systemic doping practices in Russian sport,” the court said in a statement.

CAS ruled the athletes “participated in and/or benefited from anabolic steroid doping” in the period before the London Olympics and through the 2013 worlds in Moscow.

Ukhov and Shkolina were given four-year bans on Friday. An eight-year ban was imposed on Lysenko for her second offence, backdated to run until July 2024.

The athletes can file appeals to a separate division of CAS, which acted as the initial disciplinary hearing in these cases.

CAS prosecuted the athletes on behalf of the Russian track federation, which has been suspended by the IAAF since 2015. A WADA investigation report involving McLaren detailed extensive doping and coverups in Russian track and field back then.

The 12 athletes found guilty Friday included Lyukman Adams, the 2014 world indoor triple jump champion.

With Ukhov disqualified, the International Olympic Committee can upgrade silver medallist Erik Kynard of the United States to become the 2012 champion.

With Shkolina’s disqualification from the 2013 worlds, another American, Brigetta Barrett, is in line to get the gold medal from the IAAF. It would be Barrett’s first world title. Two-time Olympic champion Anita Wlodarczyk could be upgraded to the 2013 world title if Lysenko is stripped of her title.

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The Associated Press

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