Russian Runner Mariya Savinova, London 2012 Gold Medallist, Banned And Stripped Of Title Over Doping

Russian runner Mariya Savinova, a London 2012 gold medallist, has been stripped of her 800m title and banned until 2019.

Russian Olympian Mariya Savinova Banned, Stripped Of Title for Doping

Savinova, 31, has had all her results from July 2010 to August 2013 annulled after being found guilty of doping.

The Russian defeated South African Caster Semenya into second at the London Olympics and the 2011 Worlds in Daegu, South Korea.

Savinova also defeated Britain’s Jenny Meadows into bronze at the 2010 Europeans. Both Semenya and Meadows could now have their medals upgraded.

Among the other medals Savinova will lose are her her 800m gold from the 2011 World Championships and the European Championships in 2010.

She will also forfeit her 2013 World Championship silver.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport’s statement on Friday read:

“On the basis of clear evidence, including the evidence derived from her biological passport (ABP), Mariya Savinova is found to have been engaged in using doping from 26 July 2010 (the eve of the European Championship in Barcelona) through to 19 August 2013 (the day after the World Championship in Moscow).

“As a consequence, a four-year period of ineligibility, beginning on 24 August 2015, has been imposed and all results achieved between 26 July 2010 and 19 August 2013, are disqualified and any prizes, medals, prize and appearance money forfeited.”

Savinova was one of five Russian athletes named in a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report about doping.

She has not competed since 2013 after being suspended during an investigation that began following the release of undercover footage filmed by whistleblower Yuliya Stepanova.

Should Semenya indeed receive a gold medal for the London 2012 final as a result, it would be her second one after she claimed the 800m title in Rio last summer.

Savinova joins one other Russian finalist who has been retrospectively banned: Yelena Arzhakova. A third, bronze medallist Ekaterina Poistogova, is also being investigated for doping.

Most of the Russian track and field team were banned from competing at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 11: Mariya Savinova of Russia celebrates afte winning gold in the Women’s 800m Final on Day 15 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 11, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)