Athletics Doping Scandal Leaves Darya Klishina Out In The Cold

The Athletics doping scandal that has seen Russia banned from track and field events has hung a bit of a pall over the 2016 Rio Olympics. In a similar way to the ridiculously childish boycotts by the Cold War enemies back in the 1980s there will be a noticeable gap in the competition. Every Olympics has panic-laden headlines ahead of time, and every games gets it together in the end, but nothing is going to put Russians back in the competition. Well. Except neutrality. Just ask Darya Klishina.

Darya Klishina

• Nationality – Neutral
• Age – 25
• Sport – Long Jumper

Not even the optimists on Bet365 would have bet the IAAF might need to reject 67 bids by individual Russian competitors attempting to circumvent the ban caused by the athletics doping scandal. A furore that has seen almost carpet accusations against both athletes and officials within Russia, but the IOC did say that anyone who could prove they were clean could compete albeit under a neutral flag. Unfortunately you can always bet on sports in Russia being a tad emotional and the reaction to Darya Klishina being able to compete has been extreme.

Based in the US Darya Klishina was able to prove herself clean and not part of the all-but state-sponsored nature of the athletics doping scandal in Russia, but when she thanked the IAAF for the opportunity and said on Facebook she was “really happy” to take part in the 2016 Rio Olympics, the reaction from the internet, particularly in Russia was vehement and hostile. The internet is not known for its subtlety and the reaction was as moronic as you'd expect, but some journalists have joined in.

Darya Klishina Will Compete At 2016 Rio Olympics

2016 Rio Olympics Ban

• Russian track & field
• ICA rules on 21st July
• WADA report to come

Dmitry Smirnov, a well known journalist reporting on the Kremlin, tweeted at her that “Hot food, rest and medical attention await you in German captivity.” Which seems a little harsh. The International Olympic Committee may be a deeply flawed institution, but it's not the Nazis. Unfortunately this was no more ridiculous than some of the other accusations. People calling Darya Klishina a traitor and others asking where her solidarity was. Solidarity?? With an athletics doping scandal? Are they for real?


Asking why Darya Klishina isn't showing solidarity with her fellow Russians despite the athletics doping scandal in Russia is an indication of a very special kind of stupid, and with the International Court of Arbitration to rule on the ban on the 21st of this month, we could yet see a fudging of the entire matter, something the IOC is particularly adept at. However if you're Russian gambling news headlines will be of your nation's re-entry into the track and field events of the 2016 Rio Olympics, don't bother.

Russian Athletics Doping Scandal Not Yet Over Either Way

The other big player in this saga is, of course, WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency that has issued so many reports detailing Russian wrong-doing that they begin to sound like the boy that cried “Hybrid Warfare” however with another report detailing tests from the last few Olympics being released next week the athletics doping scandal could expand into other sports, so rather than the ICA ruling to lift one ban it could well find itself having to comment on an entirely new set of bans.

WADA has cleared Darya Klishina to compete in the Long Jump at the 2016 Rio Olympics the massively negative attention can't have made her preparations any easier, and if you're Russian gambling laws do allow you to wager on her rather than against her at Bet365. She might be under a neutral flag but that is a situation not of her own making, quite the reverse, and the perverse criticism of her emanating from the Russian authorities and their sock-puppets is a howling indication of their guilt not hers.