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The four-year suspension to Russian athletics coach Andrei Eremenko has been upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) had appealed the suspension.

Eremenko apparently bribed a doping control officer at the 2017 Russian Athletics Championships. He was initially cleared by the anti-doping panel of the RUSADA in December 2018.

At that time, RUSADA launched the appeal to CAS. The CAS said that there was no reasonable doubt that Eremenko had tried to bribe the official.

The bribe attempt happened after RUSADA was seeking a urine sample from hurdler Yulia Malueva, who is an Eremenko-trained athlete.

Malueva apparently feigned sickness during the attempted doping test. An ambulance was called to take the athlete to the hospital while Eremenko was said to offer a bribe to the RUSADA official to prevent the process of taking a sample.

RUSADA deputy director-general told TASS news agency, “Today, we received a verdict from CAS, which confirmed our accusations and ruled to suspend coach Eremenko for the period of four years.”