Russian flees
Anastasia Davydova, the secretary general of the Russian Olympic Committee has fled Russia according to Russian news agency TASS. Davydova is a five-time Olympic gold medallist.
The artistic swimming coach has no plans to return to Russia and has fled due to the drafting of thousands of civilians into the illegal incursion into Ukraine.
One of #Russia’s greatest athletes, 5-time gold medalist & 13-time world champion, swimmer Anastasia Davydova, HAS FLED! 🇷🇺🏊🏼♀️👏https://t.co/rHX3WD3Z8a
— Jon Óttar (@jonothar) September 28, 2022
Allegedly, Olympic Committee president Stanislav Pozdnyakov has been a vocal supporter of the attack in Ukraine. Apparently, he said that athletes should be honoured to be mobilized in the war effort.
According to the media, there is an exodus of Russians trying to leave the country. This is apparently a Putin war, not a people’s war.
An arrest warrant issued for Tokyo executive member
Haruyuki Takahashi, a former member of the Tokyo 2020 executive Board, has apparently been issued a new arrest warrant on charges of bribery to do with the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Takahashi is accused of accepting 15 million Japanese yen or $104,000 US dollars, £96,000 or €108,000 in bribes from Daiko Advertising in return for asking the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee to use the firm services of English conversation schools, which became a sponsor of last year’s delayed Games in 2018.
Kazumasa Fukami, a friend of Takahashi has already been arrested. He is involved with a prior case also involving bribes accepted by Takahashi from Daiko.
Takahashi apparently lobbied the Olympic Organising Committee to extend favours to Sun Arrow over the sale of stuffed toys for the Games.
Additionally, Takahashi is alleged to have requested that major ad agency ADK Holdings be hired as an agent for sponsors.
Investigations and arrests will continue on this matter. Jail-golf anyone?
Two more Kenyan athletes were caught doping
Felix Kipchumba Korir and Emmanuel Saina have been banned from marathon running for testing positive for norandrosterone.
The 31-year-old Korir had a urine test in Kapsabet, Kenya on August 17 of this year and subsequently tested positive.
On September 6, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) laboratory in Lausanne reported the adverse analytical finding.
Korir is now banned for four years, however, was sentenced to three years for admitting to doping.
All of Korir’s results, titles, awards, and medals are to be annulled and returned. Korir could appeal the decision.
The 30-year-old Saina provided a sample the following day in Eldoret, Kenya.
Saina’s sample also returned an adverse analytical finding in Lausanne on Sept. 6. He was given the same four-year suspension reduced by one year once he admitted guilt.
Kenya is on the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) watch list as a Category A nation deemed likely to be at risk for doping.
Kenya has the most suspended athletes in the world per capita and the most suspended to Russia which is serving a complete national ban.
Perhaps Korir should have stuck to farming having risked everything and with doping only managed at 2:14:16 performance as his personal best in 2018 — ouch. At least Saina had success with his best of 2:05:02 from Dubai in 2019. He ran at least three 2:05s from 2018 to 2021.
Depending on who is reporting, there is apparently 50 and perhaps up to 70 Kenyan athletes (just runners) who are going into, or currently serving or just coming out of suspension for doping, tampering or missing three tests in a 12 month period or having an adverse analytical finding in the Athlete Biological Passport.
