Deafening silence will greet Russians

IF RUSSIAN hurdler Sergey Shubenkov retains his world title in London next week, he will not be serenaded by his national anthem when he stands on the podium.

Shubenkov and 18 compatriots will compete as neutrals at the World Championships, the biggest meeting to include Russians since the country was suspended in November 2015.

That ban followed an independent World AntiDoping Agency (WADA) report that exposed the country’s widespread state-sponsored doping.

“I want everything to be like in 2015,” said Shubenkov, as he reflected on his 110m hurdles victory in Beijing.

With their federation still suspended, dozens of Russians have been cleared to compete internationally after demonstrating the to IAAF that their training environment meets antidoping standards.

Although some semblance of a Russian squad is returning to the international stage, Russian athletes in London will be barred from wearing their country’s symbols and colours.

Russian authorities have vehemently denied state-sponsored doping, and have generally accepted athletes’ efforts to compete as neutrals. Sports minister Pavel Kolobkov said: “Everyone understands who they are representing. It will be difficult for the athletes to compete because they are patriots.”

Many of the Russian athletes say that the absence of their flag is a minor annoyance that neither dims their love of their country nor affects their focus.

Another defending champion is high jumper Maria Lasitskene, whose personal best of 2.06m at a meeting in Lausanne last month is three centimetres off the world record.

She said that the possibility of retaining her title was more important than the colours she would be wearing.

“I am competing as a neutral but what’s most important for me is to show results, to defend my title,” she said.