Russian athletes caught in massive doping scandal

With only one week to go before the Beijing Olympics, Russia suddenly has its own version of a BALCO doping scandal...

With only one week to go before the Beijing Olympics, Russia suddenly has its own version of a BALCO doping scandal involving some of the track team8217;s biggest stars. After a 1 1/2-year sting investigation, the IAAF provisionally suspended seven female Russian athletes Thursday, accusing them of tampering with their urine samples. The list includes Yelena Soboleva, a world record holder and world champion middle-distance runner who was favoured to win both the 800 and 1,500 metres at the Olympics.

The seven athletes, many of them potential Olympic medalists, come from a variety of disciplines, from middle-distance running to the hammer and discuss throw, suggesting the scandal has a broad base and goes well beyond a few competitors. The athletes could possibly still compete at the Beijing Games if they were to get an emergency ruling lifting the provisional suspension.

The IAAF made the announcement of potentially the biggest doping scandal since BALCO in 2003, hoping some of the dust will have settled by the time the athletics competition begins in Beijing on August 15.

Suspicions about the Russians first surfaced in early 2007 when a string of truly exceptional results were matched by a long string of flawless negative testing results.

Provisional suspensions

Based on findings, the IAAF announced that Soboleva, two-time world 1,500 champion Tatyana Tomashova, middle-distance runners Yulia Fomenko, Svetlana Cherkasova and Olga Yegorova, hammer thrower Gulfiya Khanafeyeva and discus thrower Darya Pishchalnikova would be provisionally suspended.

Russian track officials confirmed the suspensions and said they were a bitter blow to the Russian team8217;s chances at the games.

8220;According to their latest results, they were considered to be real contenders for Olympic medals, including gold,8221; All Russia Athletics Federation president Valentin Balakhnichev said.

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Fomenko was second to Soboleva when she set the indoor world record of 3 minutes, 57.71 seconds on March 9 in Valencia, Spain, breaking her previous mark of 3:58.05. Tomashova won world titles at the 2003 and 8217;05 championships, and won silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics, while Yegorova won the 5,000 at the 2001 Edmonton worlds and took silver in the 1,500 at the 2005 Helsinki worlds and gold in 3,000 at the 2001 indoor worlds.