The one Russian track and field athlete in the Rio Olympics has been banned from competing on suspicion of doping, the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) announced Saturday.
The Associated Press reports that Darya Klishina, 25, was previously granted an exemption from a Russian competitor ban that alleges that all Russian athletes were involved in a state-run doping program. However, IAAF spokesman Yannis Nikolaou told The Associated Press Saturday that her exemption had been revoked.
Russia’s doping problem has been in the public eye since November 2015, when the World Anti-Doping Agency published a report indicating that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency was enabling systematic doping in athletes. As a result, the International Paralympic Committee banned all Russian athletes from competing in the 2016 Olympics.
Klishina is currently appealing the decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which has said it will rule on the case Sunday or Monday.
Spokesman Yannis Nikolaou told The Associated Press that Klishina’s eligibility had been revoked by the IAAF based on new information it received last week, but would not discuss specifics.
Klishna made a post on her official Facebook account Saturday afternoon addressing the situation.
The official Russian Olympic Twitter account posted a picture of Klishna on its account with the caption “Darya, we are with you.”
#RUS #нашиврио #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/ubN58S2SFn
— Olympic Russia (@Olympic_Russia) August 13, 2016
You can watch Klishna in action here.
