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Rio 2016: Sole Russian track and field athlete suspended

August 13, 2016

Darya Klishina, the only Russian track and field athlete at the Rio Olympics, has been suspended from the games. The decision comes just days before she was due to compete in the long jump.

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Russland Darya Klishina
Image: picture alliance/dpa/S. Schmidt

Yannis Nikolaou, spokesman for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) told The Associated Press that the organization revoked eligibility for Klishina based on new information it received last week. Nikolaou would not specify what the new information is.

Klishina, who lives in America and is a former European indoor champion, was set to jump when the women's competition begins on Tuesday. While she immediately appealed the decision, her participation is now in serious doubt.

She was previously the only one of 68 Russian track and field athletes allowed to compete in the sport amid a state-sponsored massive doping scandal exposed by the McLaren report. The IAAF had accepted her application because of her residency in the States.

Russia's Olympics chief Alexander Zhukov hit out at the decision: "The situation with Darya Klishina appears to be cynical mockery of the Russian sportswoman by the IAAF," he told Russian news agencies.

Nikolaou said a decision on Klishina's appeal is expected on either Sunday or Monday, potentially just hours before she is scheduled to compete.

mp/rd (AP/Reuters)

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