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Indian Express
5 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Chance to test themselves against the best, money, fame, their prime sporting years: what Russian athletes are losing due to decade-long international ban
There's a 'Brit' at the Russian National Championships. Striking braids, the unmistakable blue-and-white vest and a mischievous smile, he belies the old stereotype of Russians being cold and aloof. As he prowls on the 100m starting line in a Great Britain uniform, Kirill Chernukhin gives the 2,000-odd spectators a reason to chuckle. The judges take him to one side and ask, 'Are you crazy?' They put a tape on the flag and the country's name before he steps on the track. 'But you can't tape over the truth,' Chernukhin tells the local media, laughing. 'The guys punished the 'Brit' anyway. More than 10 of us dominated the 'Englishman'.' The 'Englishman', to be sure, is Chernukhin himself. 'I started in British gear so that every domestic sprinter has a chance to get ahead of a Brit. I'm not in the best shape right now. I can't run fast. And I wanted the guys to feel this: bam! — they beat the Brit. Cool, right?' he says, according to It's a multi-layered joke, one that touches the many emotions athletes here are experiencing. The yearning to test themselves against the world's best and the helplessness of not being able to do so; the pain of wasting their prime years; the anger of losing fame and money; the waning motivation, the hope that soon they will be reinstated and can challenge the global stars again. Since November 2015, Russian track and field athletes have not been allowed to compete in international events. At first, when they were sanctioned for state-sponsored doping, they were at least given the chance to participate as neutrals — meaning no Russian flag or anthem at tournaments. But after the invasion of Ukraine, World Athletics imposed a blanket ban. They are now vigorously tested for doping, claims the Russian Athletics Federation. 'We have around 3,000 tests annually and less than 10 anti-doping violations per year,' says secretary general Alexander Djordjadze. When asked about the sanctions imposed because of the war, the athletes keep mum. 'Sport should be away from politics,' says former World Championship silver medallist triple jumper Ekaterina Koneva, repeating a common refrain. The isolation, though, has had a profound impact on established and fledgling careers alike. Take the case of Polina Knoroz. The pole vaulter, 26, crossed a height of 4.86m on a cold Sunday evening at the Central Stadium in Kazan in front of thousands of screaming fans and with the blockbuster song 'Matushka' — 'Motherland' — blaring from the speakers. Polina's effort is the second-best in the world this year, 5 cm behind USA's Amanda Pol, and the best in Europe. Yet, when the galaxy of stars descends upon Tokyo for the World Championship in a month, Polina will be at her home in St. Petersburg. When asked if she will miss going pole-to-pole with the best, she says with a smile: 'Maybe, they will miss me!' Like many others, Polina says she is driven by the desire to 'prove that I can perform no worse than the global stars'. 'I do not have the opportunity to perform on the international stage but in Russia, I can produce a world-class result,' she says. During the four-day event, Polina was one of the three Russians who met World Championship qualification standards. In women's 400m, Polina Tkalich ran 50.52 seconds, faster than the mark of 50.75s, while Fedor Ivanov — who left it all on the track, literally, and had to be taken off on a wheelchair — completed the men's 400m hurdles in 47.94 seconds, a Russian record (Worlds Qualification mark: 48.50s). Ivanov took up running in 2016, when he was 12 years old, in his hometown of Norilsk, north of the Arctic Circle. He belongs to a generation of Russians that has never seen their athletes compete in the country's colours since taking up the sport. 'I feel a bit disappointed that I am not having a chance to compete internationally,' he says. 'At the Diamond League, I would be among the winners, for sure.' He proudly wears the logo of his club CSKA, under the Russian Ministry of Defence. Dozens of athletes from the club have been barred from competing in any sport by the International Olympic Committee, which has mandated that athletes seeking to compete without Russia's flag must not belong to sports clubs linked to security agencies. Ivanov says he trains every day in the hope that one day, he will be allowed to represent his country. London Olympics silver medallist long jumper Yelena Sokolova calls it a 'tragedy' that an entire generation of Russian athletes don't know what it's like to compete for the flag. 'At the same time, they don't know what they have lost. But I understand and it's a tragedy,' she says. She isn't the only one whose career suffered after the sanctions came into effect. Sergey Shubhenkov, a former world champion hurdler, says that in the first year of restrictions and competing as a neutral, he wondered why he was being punished. 'It was weird,' he says. 'The attention on Russian athletes was a lot more. But by 2018, everything was okay, we got used to it and it was like nothing happened. I was doing everything I needed to. I was allowed to compete, win, earn money, stand on the podium…' Everything changed after the blanket ban following the Ukraine invasion. 'When the companies left Russia, a lot of sponsorships just ended. I lost most of my income, but am still doing fine. You can earn in Russia practising sports without foreign sponsorships, pretty much like any other occupation,' Shubhenkov says. A lawyer by qualification, Shubhenkov, now in the twilight of his career, says he wouldn't earn the same amount of money in 'three-four years of working' as he would in one year of sport. The 34-year-old has been delaying his retirement in the hope that the sanctions will be lifted and he can bid farewell after competing one last time on an international platform. Here, they secretly hope that Friday's summit between the presidents of Russia and the USA leads to a solution that will eventually lead to their reinstatement. Until that happens, they appeal. 'Sport unites,' says Polina. 'Don't forget us.' (The reporter was in Kazan on the invitation of the Russian Athletics Federation)
Indian Express
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Russia's push to end 10-year international athletics exile, address mistrust: Diplomacy, anti-doping audits, social media posts in English
Diplomatic engagements. Rigorous anti-doping audits. And a robust analysis of their social media game. As Russia steps up its efforts to end the 10-year international isolation — first because of state-sponsored doping and then, the invasion of Ukraine — top country's athletics bosses are dotting the i's and crossing the t's. And while they internally plan to secure their return, there is an increased attention on 'public communication in English' to change perception and address the 'mistrust on the other side, since there is a painful history.' Pyotr Fradkov, the chairman of Russian Athletics Federation, said they are in an 'open and frank discussion' with World Athletics, sharing 'information, views and positions on how to get our athletes back'. 'We certainly are working on it with our colleagues from World Athletics, and I think they hear our arguments. Certainly, they have their own evaluation of the situation,' Fradkov said. 'We believe that in the proximate future, there may be some decisions to get some of our athletes back, so they'll be restored in some way. But the most important thing is that we've been continuing to fulfill all the regulations since the ban, actually. In all spheres.' Athletes have not been able to compete for Russia since November 2015 after they were accused of state-sponsored doping, which led to President Vladimir Putin ordering a probe. Their ban was upheld in 2019 after the World Anti-Doping Agency declared the Russian doping-control authority as 'non-compliant' for manipulating laboratory data handed over to the investigators. In March 2023, World Athletics lifted the doping suspension after concluding that the Russian Athletics Federation met the conditions set by a taskforce. However, the country's athletes remain excluded from the international stage due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed Russian athletes to compete as neutrals at the Paris Olympics last year. And at the recent World Championship, Russia's swimmers — competing as neutrals — won 18 medals to finish fourth on the table. But some sports federations have adopted a tough stance, like World Athletics, which banned all athletes from a country from its competitions. In March, World Athletics president Sebastien Coe said the sanctions will remain in place until a 'peace agreement is reached.' Fradkov said he would 'try not to politicise the whole situation', but remained hopeful of a solution. The son of former Russia Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and the chairman of state-owned bank, PJSC Promsvyazbank, Fradkov is considered to be a part of Putin's 'inner oligarch' circle, according to Fox News. In November 2024, he received the government's backing to take over as the head of the athletics federation and soon 'started sort of communication with World Athletics on one hand, (while) on the other, (there was) plenty of room for improvement inside ourselves.' 'I think that we're in a really constructive dialogue with our colleagues from World Athletics. The issue of getting back some of the athletes is quite feasible, achievable,' Fradkov said on the sidelines of the Russian National Championships. In interviews with Agence France-Presse earlier this week, former International Olympic Committee marketing executives Michael Payne and Terrence Burns agree that 'Russia at some stage has to be brought back in from the cold'. But Burns, talking in the context of the Olympics, warned that the 'Russians should not expect a speedy return' and demonstrate to the world that they have taken steps to change. 'If Russia wants back in, it's going to have to show it's willing to change,' Burns told AFP. Having delivered the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, as the deputy CEO of the organising committee, Alexander Djordjadze understands the importance of building trust and changing perceptions. Djordjadze was appointed as the new secretary-general of the Russian Athletics Federation in January and insists the new team has started with a clean slate. 'There is no mistrust on our side, neither with us or the public. I understand what you're saying that there could be mistrust on the other side, since there is a painful history with this federation in particular,' Djordjadze said. 'We were not part of that history. We are new faces. We are trying to be as straightforward as we can be, and I think that the other side will gradually appreciate that. And thus, the trust will be built. That's the only way.' This means increased anti-doping awareness, more tests and constant monitoring of their top athletes so that they 'understand all the rules of the game'. Djordjadze said approximately 3,000 tests are conducted annually on Russian track-and-field athletes. 'And we have less than 10 anti-doping violations per year,' he claims. The federation's executive director Boris Yaryshevskiy concedes, however, that there is 'room for improvement in connection with the perception' of Russian athletes outside the country. 'Previously not enough effort was put into public communication in English, because, of course, we imposed Russian compliance regulation (with) the updates of the website, and social messages,' Yaryshevskiy said. 'But we started to analyse what we post on Instagram, what we post on Twitter, you know, on all these public socials. We understand clearly there's room for improvement. We need to, first of all, make the posts in English. It should be regular, so people should follow. So there is definitely room for improvement in connection with perceptions.' (The reporter is in Kazan at the invitation of the Russian Athletics Federation)
