The Russian sports star was stripped of his world titles and records. A controversial doping story
Tatyana Postnikova September 10, 2023, 11:30 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
In Russia, Kashirina was found not guilty and the Court of Arbitration for Sport disqualified her for eight years. How did this happen?
In August 2023, the best Russian weightlifter Tatyana Kashirina rejoiced at the end of her doping disqualification and smashed all her rivals at the II CIS Games. And a month later, the athlete found herself in the bathhouse again. Furthermore, she has now been deprived of her main awards and, apparently, she will never again be able to appear on the platform. And all because the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) insisted on her suspension.
Are they making fun of our sport there?
“She was accused without evidence”
The whole story began back in 2020. In December, Kashirina was temporarily suspended from competition for suspected anti-doping rule violations. The reason is data from the database of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory (LIMS) for the period from 2012 to 2015.
In September 2021, RUSADA, after a lengthy investigation and WADA’s silence, dropped all charges against Tatyana for violating doping rules. On the one hand, this decision was joyful and long-awaited, on the other hand, it was very upsetting for the athlete herself, because because of these suspicions, the Russian missed the Tokyo Olympics, where she was one of her favorites. .
Russian weightlifters were not allowed to participate in the Olympic Games due to doping:
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“Tatyana was acquitted because there was no evidence of her guilt. She was charged without evidence, but it all ended in hearings in RUSADA’s anti-doping disciplinary committee, which decided that she had not violated anything. All this lasted a long time: a year and seven months, it was difficult for her, you understand? But we won’t sue anyone. We are so tired of all this. Now Tatyana is studying, because now she cannot fully trust herself in sports and something can happen to each person. She has a strong character and she never gave up,” the athlete’s personal trainer, Vladimir Krasnov, told TASS.
Then the head coach of the Russian women’s team, Gennady Anikanov, expressed concern that the strange story with Kashirina was not over. And it turned out that she was right. In response to RUSADA’s appeal, WADA also filed its claim with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
“Another example of how the AMA investigates cases”
In 2022, the weightlifter quietly returned to the sport. Due to sanctions, he did not have time to compete in large international tournaments, but he confidently related to everyone in Russian competitions. Interestingly, Kashirina did not return to his usual super heavyweight category, but to a weight of up to 87 kg. Tatiana’s last competition was the II CIS Games. There she won the double event with a result of 262 kg.
How Kashirina won at the second CIS Games:
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Russia won the second CIS Games. We have 288 medals!
While the Russian competed in tournaments, hearings and procedures were held at the CAS. And here’s the result: On August 28, the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned RUSADA’s decision and found Kashirina guilty of anti-doping rule violations. The athlete was suspended for eight years from the date of the verdict. But Tatyana will stay in the bathhouse not until August 2031, but until January 2030, since he has already served part of his disqualification period from 2020 to 2022. Little consolation for the athlete, who turned 32 last January.
In addition, the weightlifter was deprived of all the titles she won between April 1, 2013 and June 19, 2017. Tatiana was stripped of three golds at the World Championships, three golds at the European Championships, and awards from other tournaments. In addition, the Russian ran out of three world records set at the 2014 World Championships: 155kg snatch, 193kg clean and jerk and 348kg total. Now the records have passed to the Chinese Li Wenwen: 147 kg in the snatch, 186 kg in the clean and jerk and 332 kg in total.
Tatiana Kashirina
Photo: RIA Novosti
“WADA reviews each case to ensure it is being handled in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code and, if it is not, we reserve the right to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. This is exactly what happened in this case and we are pleased that the appeal was successful. This is another example of how WADA diligently investigates all LIMS-related matters in Russia to ensure fairness for athletes and preserve clean sport,” WADA said in a statement.
It is impossible not to notice that Kashirina was punished quite harshly. This is due to the fact that Tatyana was found to have repeatedly violated anti-doping rules. The first violation occurred at the age of 15, then the athlete missed two years, but he was able to return. It is now unlikely that Kashirina will be able to return. When she ends the ban, she will be almost 40 years old.
Russian weightlifters have been returned. But they are not going to do:
“Why not cheese in a mousetrap?” The Russians refused to sign the humiliating declaration.
