After @Yevgenia Zinurova was one of three Russian athletes banned for doping, Jenny Meadows has had her 800m silver medal at the 2011 European Indoor Championships upgraded to gold.
The Russian Athletics Federation handed a ban of two years to marathon runner Nailiya Yulamanova and 800m specialists Zinurova and Svetlana Klyuka. All the three sportsmen will now miss London Olympics. Meadows would also be missing this summer’s Olympics after not being selected in Team GB’s athletics squad. The 31-year-old who lost out to Zinurova in Paris in 2011 when the Russian passed her in the home straight had suggested before a team announcement that she will be making an appeal if not selected but have decided not to fight the decision.
Russian trio Yulamanova, Zinurova and Klyuka were also suspended for “abnormal indexes in their biometric passports” in addition to doping charges, the first time Russian athletes have been banned for such offences. The 31-year-old Yulamanova finished second in the marathon at the 2010 European Championships in Barcelona. She was awarded the gold medal after Zivile Balciunaite of Lithuania, the original winner, was disqualified and banned for using steroids.
The suspensions of Yulamanova and Klyuka have been backdated from February 2012, while the ban of Zinurova, the 800m indoor European champion, began in September 2011.
Jenny Meadows runs superb 800m at Aviva Indoor Birmingham and breaks national record of Holmes
The suspensions mean all threw would be ineligible to compete at Russian championships in Cheboksary, and therefore cannot compete at London 2012.
“This is the first time athletes have been suspended in Russia because of abnormality of their biometric passports,” said Russian Athletics Federation president Valentin Balakhnichyov. “We know such practice has been widely used in cycling but unfortunately it’s now been the case with our athletes as well.”It’s a huge loss for our team but their guilt has been proven beyond doubt.”
