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Russian swimmers Andrusenko, Kudashev cleared for participation in Olympic Games

Both swimmers are on the roster of Russia’s national team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Veronika Andrusenko Egor Aleev/TASS

Veronika Andrusenko

© Egor Aleev/TASS

MOSCOW, July 18. /TASS/. Russian swimmers Veronika Andrusenko and Alexander Kudashev have been cleared for the participation in the Olympic Games after the provisional suspension on suspected anti-doping rule violation was lifted, President of the Russian Swimming Federation Vladimir Salnikov told TASS on Sunday.

"[The suspension] has been lifted. Everything is all right. They can compete, we are glad the case is over and they are completely acquitted," he said.

The International Swimming Federation (FINA) on Wednesday provisionally suspended Andrusenko and Kudashev for alleged anti-doping rule violations, the FINA press service said on Wednesday. The Russian swimmers were reported to be provisionally suspended based on evidence supplied by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which had been received from the former Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory, including the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).

Both swimmers are on the roster of Russia’s national team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which will be held from July 23 to August 8.

The swimmers’ attorneys challenged their suspension with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said in April 2020 that it had completed an investigation into 298 Russian athletes based on the LIMS database, which contains their doping samples taken between 2012 and 2015. The collected data was shared with the international sports federations. Based on the LIMS evidence, 298 doping cases were opened, with athletes from 27 sports under suspicion.

Sanctions against Russian sports

The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland’s Lausanne partially upheld on December 17, 2020 WADA’s (the World Anti-Doping Agency) previous ruling on a number of sanctions against Russian sports.

Following the CAS decision, Russian athletes were deprived of their right to participate in all World Championships, Olympic and Paralympic Games under the national flag of Russia for a two-year period.

The national anthem of Russia was also prohibited from being played at international sports tournaments over the course of the next two years, even at the upcoming Olympic Games in Japan this summer.

The ruling of the Swiss-based court also stripped Russia of the right to bid for the organization of all international sports tournaments for a period of two years. WADA’s sanctions will be in force until December 2022.

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