IAAF clears US-based Russian long jumper Darya Klishina for Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro
The Russian track and field team is currently suspended by the International Association of Athletics Federation over state-sponsored doping
US-based long jumper Darya Klishina became the first Russian athlete to be cleared to compete at the Olympic Games, but the fate of pole vault star Yelena Isinbayeva was still up in the air.
The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), which has suspended the Russian track and field team over state-sponsored doping, said it had given the go ahead for Klishina to compete in international competition as a neutral, ahead of the Rio de Janeiro Games next month.
“The IAAF Doping Review Board has today agreed that Russian long jump athlete Darya Klishina meets the exceptional eligibility criteria to compete in international competition as a neutral athlete,” the IAAF said in a statement.
“The Doping Review Board received a total of 136 applications from Russian athletes seeking exceptional eligibility to compete in an individual capacity,” the statement said.
The Russian Olympic Committee said that of the 136 who applied to the IAAF to compete, only Klishina had been accepted.