Rio 2016: Lonely Games for Russia's sole field athlete
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Russia's Darya Klishina competes in the women's long jump final at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday. She finished ninth. / AP-Yonhap
By Choi Ha-young
Russia’s Darya Klishina said it was hard being her country’s only field athlete at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
“It is very hard being the only Russian, as normally we are a big team with big support and I am alone,” she said after advancing to the final of the women’s long jump, Tuesday. She went on to finish ninth in Wednesday’s final.
Klishina, 25, had an appeal against a ban overturned Monday so she could compete.
But it was a bumpy road to Rio for her. Because she trained in the U.S., Klishina was initially exempt from bans imposed because of a state-sponsored Russian doping program. Later, the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) overruled the decision based on “additional information.”
But the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) this week overturned the ban, allowing Klishina to compete in the Games.
“Last week it was really tough and a really hard week for me mentally,” Klishina said, quoted by USA Today. “I was waiting for the decision and I could not practice. Now I am trying to be focused on my jumps.”
The CAS said her permanent residence in the U.S. meant she still met the IAAF’s criteria despite new evidence, and she had fully complied with drug testing in and out of competition.