LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — World Triathlon imposed a package of sanctions on Russia on Monday after repeated doping cases, including one involving an athlete who competed at the Tokyo Olympics.
World Triathlon’s measures won’t stop Russian triathletes competing, but they bar Russia from hosting world and European-level events until the end of 2022, suspend Russian officials from international positions, and mandate more drug testing.
World Triathlon said its board imposed the sanctions because of a “significant number of doping cases in Russia.”
Recent doping cases include Igor Polyanskiy, who was banned for three years and disqualified from the Tokyo Olympics in October after admitting taking the blood-booster EPO. Polyanskiy gave a sample at a training camp just before the Olympics which tested positive, but the lab result only came back after he had competed in two events without winning a medal.
There was no immediate response from the Russian Triathlon Federation, which is led by Ksenia Shoigu, the influential daughter of the Russian Defense Minister.
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