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Isinbayeva says IAAF again rejected her appeal to compete in Rio Olympics

"Unfortunately, I was not granted exception. There was no miracle and I am not allowed to go to the Olympics," she wrote on her Instagram page
Two-time Olympic champion Yelena Isinbayeva Alexander Shcherbak/TASS
Two-time Olympic champion Yelena Isinbayeva
© Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

MOSCOW, July 28. /TASS/. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) again rejected two-time Olympic pole vault champion Elena Isinbayeva’s appeal to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio, she wrote on her Instagram page on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Isinbayeva had said that she was expecting a reply from the IAAF to her bid for participation in the Olympics until the end of working hours.

"About 20 minutes ago I received a negative reply from the IAAF secretary," Isinbayeva wrote. "Unfortunately, I was not granted exception. There was no miracle and I am not allowed to go to the Olympics. Thank you all for your support. I am not destined to compete in Rio."

Earlier this month, IAAF’s anti-doping department rejected personal applications from all Russian athletes to participate in international competitions, including the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, except for long jumper, Darya Klishina, who has lived and trained in the United States over the past three years.

On July 21, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled against the appeal from the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and 68 national athletes against the IAAF, thus closing the doors for Russian track and field athletes to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Brazil, except for Klishina.

Isinbayeva, a triple world champion (2005, 2007 and 2013) having set a total of 28 world records, is currently considered the greatest female pole-vaulter of all time. She was the first woman ever to clear the five-meter height jump having achieved the result in 2005.

The 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro are scheduled for August 5-21.