Authorised Neutral Athletes at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics

Last updated
Authorised Neutral Athletes at the
2017 World Championships in Athletics
ANA flag (2017).svg
The flag used by the Authorised Neutral Athletes
WA codeANA
in London, United Kingdom
4–13 August 2017
Competitors19 (12 men and 7 women) in 14 events
Medals
Gold
1
Silver
5
Bronze
0
Total
6
World Championships in Athletics appearances (overview)
Other related appearances
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia (1993–2015)

The Authorised Neutral Athletes are Russian athletes who are permitted to compete in the 2017 World Championships in Athletics by special permission, despite the IAAF's suspension of the Russian Athletic Federation. In order to compete, Russian athletes must demonstrate that they were not involved in the doping scandal that precipitated Russia's suspension from international athletics.

Contents

Background

In July 2016, Richard McLaren presented the report of the WADA Commission in Toronto, Ontario, indicating systematic state-sponsored subversion of the drug testing processes by the government of Russia during and subsequent to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. [1] In December 2016, he published the second part of his report on doping in Russia. [2] [3]

Some Russians have called the allegations an anti-Russian plot while others consider that Russia was "just doing what the rest of the world does". [4] [5] [6] Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia had "never supported any violations in sport, we have never supported it at the state level, and we will never support this" [7] and that the allegations were part of an "anti-Russia policy" by the West. [8] Aleksei Pushkov, chairman of Russia's parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said that the IAAF's decision to uphold its ban was "an act of political revenge against Russia for its independent foreign policy." [8] A member of Russia's parliament, Vadim Dengin, stated, "The entire doping scandal is a pure falsification, invented to discredit and humiliate Russia." [9] After the Court of Arbitration for Sport turned down an appeal by Russian athletes, pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva wrote, "Let all those pseudo clean foreign athletes breathe a sigh of relief and win their pseudo gold medals in our absence. They always did fear strength." [10] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the ruling a "crime against sport". [11] A poll by the Levada Center found that 14% of Russians believed that the country's athletes had doped in Sochi, 71% did not believe WADA's reports, and 15% decided not to answer. [12]

A spokesman for Putin called Stepanova a "Judas". [13] The Russian media have also criticised the Stepanovs. Yuliya Stepanova said, "All the news stories call me a traitor and not just traitor but a traitor to the Motherland." [14] Vitaly Stepanov said, "I wasn't trying to expose Russia, I was trying to expose corrupt sports officials that are completely messing up competitions not just inside the country but globally." [15] Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that the Russian media portrayed the German documentaries as "part of a Western conspiracy with the aim of weakening the great nation that Vladimir Putin lifted from its knees." [16] Hajo Seppelt had the "impression that he and the Stepanovs were being styled as enemies of the state". [16]

Dick Pound described Russia's response as "a bit like when you get stopped for speeding on the freeway by the police and you say 'why me? everyone else was doing it'." [17] He stated that if Russia's authorities had "responded to their issues they could easily have enough time to sort everything out in time for Rio. But instead they played the role of victims, claiming there was a plot against them for too long." [17] Leonid Bershidsky, a Russian writer for Bloomberg View, wrote that Russia's "officials need to understand that "whataboutism" doesn't avert investigations". [5] The Moscow correspondent of Deutsche Welle , Juri Rescheto, wrote that the response he saw in Russia "shows that the country is living in a parallel universe" and seeks to blame others. [18] Writing for The New York Times , Andrew E. Kramer said that Russia responded to the IAAF's decision against reinstatement with "victimhood" reflecting a "culture of grievances that revolves around perceived slights and anti-Russian conspiracies taking place in the outside world, particularly in Western countries". [8] The newspaper's editorial board also saw a "narrative of victimization" in Russia, and wrote that it resembled how the Soviet Union would respond to a punishment – by saying that it was "politically motivated, always a provocation, never justified. [Even] though the Cold War is long over, President Vladimir Putin remains stuck in the same, snarling defensive crouch in his responses to any accusations of Russian foul play". [19] Andrew Osborn of Reuters wrote that the Russian government had "deftly deflected the blame by passing it off as a Western Cold War-style plot to sabotage Russia's international comeback." [20] In response to Russia's opinion that the allegations were "politically motivated", WADA's former chief investigator, Jack Robertson, said that he saw politics "when Craig Reedie tried to intervene by writing emails to the Russian ministry to console them." [21]

Match TV said that Americans had orchestrated the doping scandal and modern pentathlon champion Aleksander Lesun called it an unfair "attack" because "Doping is in all countries and there are violators everywhere." [22] Following the IOC's announcement on 24 July 2016, Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko said it was "a just and fair decision and we hope every federation will take the same kind of decision. Doping is a worldwide evil, not only of Russia." [23] The Russian media's reaction was "nearly euphoric at points." [22]

A reporter from Russian state-owned television told IOC President Thomas Bach that "It looked like you personally were helping us" and asked whether the doping investigation was a "political attack" on Russian athletes. [24] After Russian athletes said that McLaren was about "politics" rather than sport, the British biathlon association stated that their comments were "brain-washed, deluded and dishonest" and decided to boycott an event in Russia. [25] Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko said that athletes should be "punished" for calls to boycott. [26]

Petitions for inclusion

In 2016 and 2017 they were permitted to compete in the championship through special permission granted by the IAAF. The IAAF had suspended the Russian national federation from competing due to breach of anti-doping rules, [27] and Klishina was the only member of the athletics team allowed to compete. This was then reversed on 13 August 2016. [6] Klishina immediately appealed the decision, saying that she is "a clean athlete and have proved that already many times and beyond any doubt. Based in the US for three years now, I have been almost exclusively tested outside of the Anti-Doping system in question. I am falling victim to those who created a system of manipulating our beautiful sport and is guilty of using it for political purposes." [6] [28] On 15 August 2016, the eve of the long jump event, Klishina's appeal was upheld, once again allowing her to compete in the Olympics. [29]

Medalists

MedalAthleteEventDate
Gold medal icon.svg Gold Mariya Lasitskene Women's high jump 12 August 2017
Silver medal icon.svg Silver Sergey Shubenkov Men's 110 metres hurdles 7 August 2017
Silver medal icon.svg Silver Darya Klishina Women's long jump 11 August 2017
Silver medal icon.svg Silver Valeriy Pronkin Men's hammer throw 11 August 2017
Silver medal icon.svg Silver Sergey Shirobokov Men's 20 kilometres walk 13 August 2017
Silver medal icon.svg Silver Danil Lysenko Men's high jump 13 August 2017

Result

Men

Track and road events
AthleteEventHeatSemifinalFinal
ResultRankResultRankResultRank
Sergey Shubenkov 110 metres hurdles 13.4715 Q13.223 q13.14Silver medal icon.svg
Sergey Shirobokov 20 kilometres walk 1:18.55Silver medal icon.svg
Field events
AthleteEventQualificationFinal
DistancePositionDistancePosition
Ilya Ivanyuk High jump 2.297 q2.25=6
Danil Lysenko 2.313 Q2.32Silver medal icon.svg
Ilya Mudrov Pole vault 5.4522Did not advance
Aleksandr Menkov Long jump 8.075 Q8.274
Aleksandr Lesnoy Shot put 19.6726Did not advance
Viktor Butenko Discus throw 59.2923Did not advance
Sergey Litvinov Hammer throw 73.4817Did not advance
Valeriy Pronkin 75.0910 q78.16Silver medal icon.svg
Aleksey Sokirskiy 75.508 Q77.50 SB5
Combined events – Decathlon
AthleteEvent100 mLJSPHJ400 m110HDTPVJT1500 mFinalRank
Ilya Shkurenyov Result11.177.62 SB13.482.0849.02 DQ DNS DNS DNF
Points823965697878860000

Women

Track and road events
AthleteEventHeatSemifinalFinal
ResultRankResultRankResultRank
Klavdiya Afanaseva 20 kilometres walk DQ
Field events
AthleteEventQualificationFinal
DistancePositionDistancePosition
Irina Gordeeva High jump 1.8916Did not advance
Mariya Lasitskene 1.921 q2.03Gold medal icon.svg
Olga Mullina Pole vault 4.558 q4.558
Anzhelika Sidorova NH Did not advance
Darya Klishina Long jump 6.661 q7.00Silver medal icon.svg
Vera Rebrik Javelin throw NM Did not advance

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Olympic Committee</span> Non-governmental sports organisation

The International Olympic Committee is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss Civil Code. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is the authority responsible for organising the modern Olympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Winter Olympics</span> Multi-sport event in Sochi, Russia

The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Sochi 2014, were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening rounds in certain events were held on 6 February 2014, the day before the opening ceremony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Court of Arbitration for Sport</span> International arbitral body for sports disputes

The Court of Arbitration for Sport is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its courts are located in New York City, Sydney, and Lausanne. Temporary courts are established in current Olympic host cities.

Competitors at the Olympic Games have used banned athletic performance-enhancing drugs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian Olympic Committee</span> National Olympic Committee of Russia

The Russian Olympic Committee is the National Olympic Committee representing Russia. Its president is Stanislav Pozdnyakov.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darya Klishina</span> Russian long jumper

Darya Igorevna Klishina is a Russian long jumper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vitaly Mutko</span> Russian politician

Vitaly Leontiyevich Mutko is a Russian politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia from 2016 to 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yuliya Stepanova</span> Russian distance runner

Yuliya Igorevna Stepanova is a Russian runner who specializes in the 800 metres track event. Stepanova was also an informant for WADA about Russia's large-scale doping program. She and her husband, Vitaly Stepanov, exposed widespread doping in Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russia at the 2012 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

The Russian Federation competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's fifth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics as an independent nation. The Russian Olympic Committee sent a total of 436 athletes to the Games, 208 men and 228 women, to compete in 24 sports. For the first time in its Olympic history, Russia was represented by more female than male athletes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independent Olympians at the Olympic Games</span> Sporting event delegation

Athletes have competed as independent Olympians at the Olympic Games for various reasons, including political transition, international sanctions, suspensions of National Olympic Committees, and compassion. Independent athletes have come from North Macedonia, East Timor, South Sudan and Curaçao following geopolitical changes in the years before the Olympics, from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as a result of international sanctions, from India and Kuwait due to the suspensions of their National Olympic Committees, and from Russia for mass violations of anti-doping rules.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics</span> 2016 Summer Olympics Athletics

Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics were held during the last 10 days of the games, from 12 to 21 August 2016, at the Olympic Stadium. The sport of athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics was made into three distinct sets of events: track and field events, road running events, and racewalking events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russia at the 2016 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

The Russian Federation competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was Russia's sixth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics as an independent nation.

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency, established in January 2008, is the Russian National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO), affiliated with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russia at the 2016 Summer Paralympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Russia was originally scheduled to compete during the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in what would have been its sixth consecutive appearance at the Summer Paralympics as an independent nation. Russia had qualified athletes in ten sports.

Grigory Mikhailovich Rodchenkov is the former head of Russia's national anti-doping laboratory, the Anti-Doping Center. Rodchenkov is known for his involvement in the state-run doping program in Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olympic Athletes from Russia at the 2018 Winter Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) was the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) designation of select Russian athletes permitted to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The designation was instigated following the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee after the Russian doping scandal. This was the second time that Russian athletes had participated under the neutral Olympic flag, the first being in the Unified Team of 1992.

The McLaren Report is the name given to an independent report released in two parts by professor Richard McLaren into allegations and evidence of state-sponsored doping in Russia. It was commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in May 2016. In July 2016, McLaren presented Part 1 of the report, indicating systematic state-sponsored subversion of the drug testing processes by the government of Russia during and subsequent to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. In December 2016, he published the second part of the report on doping in Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Authorised Neutral Athletes</span>

Authorised Neutral Athlete (ANA) is a capacity under which athletes can compete at international sporting competitions without representing their nations, as is standard convention under the Olympic Charter. As of August 2022, only Russian and Belarusian athletes of some sports have competed or are competing within the ANA capacity.

The Oswald Commission was a disciplinary commission of the International Olympic Committee ("IOC"), chaired by IOC member Denis Oswald. It was responsible for investigating and ruling on doping violations by individual Russian athletes at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

Systematic doping of Russian athletes has resulted in 48 Olympic medals stripped from Russia, four times the number of the next highest, and more than 30% of the global total. Russia has the most competitors who have been caught doping at the Olympic Games in the world, with more than 150.

References

  1. "WADA: Russian sports ministry oversaw doping cover-ups during Sochi Olympics". Business Day Live, July 18, 2016
  2. "Electronic Documentary Package of the IP Professor Richard H. McLaren, O.C." December 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-01-28. Retrieved 2017-08-05.
  3. "McLaren Independent Investigation Report into Sochi Allegations - Part II". World Anti-Doping Agency. 9 December 2016.
  4. MacFarquhar, Neil (21 July 2016). "A Doping Scandal Appears Unlikely to Tarnish Russia's President". The New York Times.
  5. 1 2 Bershidsky, Leonid (10 November 2015). "Doping Shows Russia Is Rotten, But Not Hopeless". Bloomberg View.
  6. 1 2 3 Grohmann, Karolos; Stubbs, Jack (14 August 2016). "Russia athletics suffers final disgrace as last competitor barred". Reuters .
  7. Ferguson, Kate (18 June 2016). "Vladimir Putin insists 'Russia does not support doping'". The Scotsman.
  8. 1 2 3 Kramer, Andrew E. (17 June 2016). "Olympic Ban Adds to Russia's Culture of Grievances". The New York Times.
  9. Nemtsova, Anna (17 June 2016). "Russia: America and the West 'Invented' Olympic Doping Scandal to 'Humiliate' Us". The Daily Beast .
  10. McGowan, Tom; Sinnott, John (21 July 2016). "Russia Olympic ban: Six questions answered". CNN .
  11. "Rio Olympics 2016: Russia fails to overturn athlete ban for next month's Games". BBC News. 21 July 2016.
  12. "Most Russians Unconvinced by WADA Doping Reports – Poll". The Moscow Times . 29 July 2016.
  13. "IAAF Taskforce: Interim report to IAAF Council, 17 June 2016" (PDF). IAAF. 17 June 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-06-29. Retrieved 2017-08-05.
  14. Schwartz, Daniel (13 January 2016). "Whistleblowers Yuliya and Vitaly Stepanov describe Russia's sports doping system". CBC News .
  15. Cherry, Gene (10 May 2016). "Whistleblower nearly aborted efforts to expose Russian doping". Reuters.
  16. 1 2 Schmidt, Friedrich; Hanfeld, Michael (11 June 2016). "Stell dir vor, das russische Staatsfernsehen kommt" [When Russian TV shows up]. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German).
  17. 1 2 Majendie, Matt (16 June 2016). "Dick Pound warns of chaos if IOC overrule IAAF over Russia's bid for Olympic Games". London Evening Standard .
  18. Rescheto, Juri (9 June 2016). "Opinion: Russia's parallel universe". Deutsche Welle .
  19. "Russia Blames Others for Its Doping Woes". The New York Times . 29 August 2016.
  20. Osborn, Andrew (22 July 2016). "Doping scandal rocks Russian sport but Putin's ratings look safe". Reuters .
  21. Epstein, David (4 August 2016). "On Eve of Olympics, Top Investigator Details Secret Efforts to Undermine Russian Doping Probe". ProPublica .
  22. 1 2 Luhn, Alec (24 July 2016). "Russia greets IOC decision on Rio Games with relief and jubilation". The Guardian .
  23. "US doping chief says IOC have left a 'confusing mess'". RTÉ. 24 July 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-07-25.
  24. Powell, Michael (4 August 2016). "I.O.C. Chief Thomas Bach Supports a Peculiar Form of Justice on Doping". The New York Times .
  25. "GBR Lead Boycott of WC 8 in Tyumen RUS". British Biathlon. 21 December 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-12-23. Retrieved 2017-08-05.
  26. "Russia loses sporting events as federations act on doping storm". Agence France-Presse . Yahoo News. 22 December 2016.
  27. "Rio 2016: Russia's Darya Klishina cleared to compete as 'neutral'". BBC Sport. 2016-07-10.
  28. "Darya Klishina".
  29. Stubbs, Jack (15 August 2016). "Exclusive: Russia's Klishina to compete after appeal upheld". Reuters .