The Russian parliament "will consider a proposal to bar athletes from competing in more than two Olympics in a bid to keep older, injury-prone athletes from denying places to younger competitors," according to the AP.
The bill submitted by lawmaker Yegor Anisimov "would amend Russian law to avoid a repeat of an incident at last year's Sochi Winter Olympics when figure skater Evgeny Plushenko entered his fourth Olympics despite injury concerns before a back problem forced him to withdraw from the men's competition at the last minute, when it was too late to replace him."
Anisimov: ''This will allow other, younger and no less talented athletes to take part in international competitions at such a high level.''
However, it appears "highly unlikely to become law, not least because several members of the Russian parliament are former Olympians."
Should Anisimov's proposal be adopted, it "would block some Russian stars from competing at next year's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, including two-time Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva."
Isinbayeva was sharply critical of the proposed limits. She said, "This proposal bears no relation to real life. Any athlete has the right to compete for as long as they can qualify for the Games" (AP, 4/7).
