In a latest of the Russian Athletes to get a nod from the IAAF Doping Review Board, Russian Long Jumper, Darya Klishina has been found to meet the exceptional eligibility criteria to compete in International Competition under Rule 22.1A for a neutral athlete.
With this verdict by the IAAF Doping Review Board, doors will open for Klishina to appear at international meets and other competitions, once IAAF notifies the respective international events organizers.
The Board, composed of Robert Hersh (chair), Sylvia Barlag and Antti Pihlakoski, which met today on the subject of her eligibility criteria for international competition, has unanimously accepted her application to compete in International Competitions as an independent neutral athlete, and the only delay is the compliance of formalities for the thing and one the Apex Athletics Body notifies the organizers, she’ll be able to apply for participating in those competition.
However, one step, that still stays as a hurdle, is acceptance by the organiser of the competition, which, in accordance with the rules of that competition is a necessary criteria for her to compete therein. Having said that, this is mostly seen as a formality rather than hurdle for any international athlete, for the approval from the highest Athletics body is generally a license in itself to compete internationally.
Once the formalities for Klishina’s eligibility under IAAF Rules are confirmed, the IAAF will be writing to notify international events organisers of her eligibility.
The IAAF Doping Review Board, has been on tedious job of verifying facts of athletes just a month or so before the biggest sporting festival to start, yes the Rio 2016 Summer Games is less than a month away now, has received a total of 136 applications from Russian athletes seeking exceptional eligibility to compete in an individual capacity under a separate provision in Competition Rule 22.1A(b), namely on the basis that they are not tainted by RUSAF’s failure to put in place adequate anti-doping systems because they have been subject to other, fully adequate systems outside of the country for a sufficiently long period to provide a substantial assurance of integrity.
A lot of these applications have now been reviewed by the Doping Review Board with the exception of the applications for the European Youth Championships in Tbilisi which were withdrawn so not reviewed.