Russian high jumper to miss European Championships after provisional suspension by IAAF
Russian high jumper Danil Lysenko will be forced to miss the 2018 European Championships after his neutral status was revoked by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) over a doping violation.
The 21-year-old athlete, who matched a world season’s best of 2m 40cm in July, failed to provide information on his whereabouts and as a result missed out-of-competition doping testing – a violation that can lead to a two-year disqualification.
“The Russian Athletics Federation has been notified today that the IAAF Doping Review Board has decided to revoke the Authorised Neutral Athlete (ANA) status granted to high jumper, Danil Lysenko,” the IAAF said in a statement.
“The decision, following information provided by AIU [Athletics Integrity Unit ]and following the AIU decision to charge and provisionally suspend the athlete, has been made as a result of Mr Lysenko's failure to provide whereabouts information as required under the IAAF Anti-Doping Rules and Regulations and to make himself available for out-of-competition testing by the AIU.”
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The world championship silver medalist Lysenko, who was among the frontrunners to win gold at the continental championship in Berlin, Germany, is now faced with the options admitting guilt or challenging the IAAF ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Following the IAAF’s refusal to lift its suspension of the Russian Athletics Federation, Russian participants are obliged to compete under neutral status at all international events, including the European Championships in Berlin this summer.
