World Triathlon Executive Board sanctions Russian Triathlon Federation

Ksenia Shoygu, president of Russian triathlon federation, head of the League of Heroes, attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 3, 2021. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina

On Monday the World Triathlon’s Executive Board sanctioned the Russian Triathlon Federation (RTF) due to a significant number of doping cases in Russia. The sanction will last one year.

The sanction, approved by the Executive Board, detailed eight key conditions.

First, the RTF will reach an agreement with the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) to test all Russian athletes, especially those competing in international competitions.

Second, all RTF officials must resign from any World Triathlon and European bodies for one year. In addition, they can’t organize any World or European triathlon events through 2022.

Other conditions include creating an education plan for Russian athletes regarding doping, the refunding of prize money and all costs related to the violations spent by the World Triathlon, and all sanctions must be taken inside the RTF for any coach or official involved in doping, with the collaboration of World Triathlon disciplinary bodies.

Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Triathlon - Mixed Team Relay - Final - Odaiba Marine Park, Tokyo, Japan - July 31, 2021. Igor Polyanskiy of the Russian Olympic Committee in action REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

Last October, World Triathlon suspended Alexander Bryuhankov and Igor Polyanskiy for three years after both tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO).

Also in October, RTF president Ksenia Shoigu signed a long-term agreement with RUSADA which covered all aspects of RTF’s anti-doping work, and called for bilateral cooperation for investigation of various anti-doping violations.

The RTF has yet to comment on the World Triathlon sanction.