The agent for Russian marathon runner Liliya Shobukhova said the runner paid the All-Russia Athletic Foundation €450,000 to avoid a doping suspension in ‘12, according to L’EQUIPE. The allegations arise from a deposition given to the IAAF from Shobukhova’s agent, Andreï Baranov, after he “alerted the IAAF” of the situation. IAAF spokesperson Nick Davies said, “A complaint has been filed with the ethics commission of the IAAF by a Russian agent, Andreï Baranov. But the content of the inquiry is strictly confidential; this commission is completely independent of the IAAF.” Baranov recounts the “unbelievable method” used by the Russian Federation (ARAF) in an "attempt to whitewash.” In Dec. ’11, after the runner was found to have violated doping rules, the ARAF “demanded €450,000 from the athlete to allow her to line up” for the London Olympic Games. She paid this amount in three cash installments of €150,000 in January, June and July of ’12. She ultimately “dropped out” in London before finishing fourth in Chicago in October and gave birth to a daughter the following year. The situation “got nasty when she wanted to return to competing” in ’14. At that point, the ARAF decided to give her a two-year ban for an “abnormal biological passport” and annulled all her results after Oct. 9, 2009. Shobukhova refused to accept the suspension and “asked for reimbursement." She has "only received" €300,000 to date. The money "could have gone" to IAAF officials to “suppress positive doping tests.” Rather “applauded in its fight against doping for some years, the IAAF is now attempting to unravel the strings of a likely attempt to bribe one of its own” to cover up cases in Russia. Davies confirmed the IAAF has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport regarding this matter and said it “clearly expressed to the ARAF its intention to see an enhanced penalty of four years put on Shobukhova” (L’EQUIPE, 12/3). The AP reported German TV channel ARD appeared to “show reigning Olympic 800-meter champion Maria Savinova admitting to using the banned steroid oxandrolone in an undercover video that has the woman's face out of focus.” The video was “dubbed into German with the original audio track absent,” but ARD said it possessed an unedited version. The ARD report also linked doping to Russian officials and athletes in other sports, including swimming, cycling, biathlon, weightlifting and cross-country skiing. The reports also include accusations from former Russian Anti-Doping Agency Official Vitaly Stepanov and his wife Yulia, who “previously competed as an 800-meter runner under the name Yulia Rusanova” and was banned for doping. Stepanov told ARD that various Russian sports federations “would come to (Russian) doping control officers’ offering ‘extra cash’ to hush up positive tests.” He also accused Moscow Anti-Doping Center Dir Grigory Rodchenkov of “falsifying tests and selling banned substances” (AP, 12/3).
