Pooley: I’ll refuse to shake hands with Russian cheats

ROAD CYCLIST Emma Pooley will refuse to shake hands with Russian drugs cheats should she win a medal in Rio. Olga Zabelinskaya was banned for 18 months for doping a year after winning bronzes in the time trial and road race at London 2012 and Pooley, who will compete in those events next month, admits she no longer trusts her. Pooley has called on cycling’s world governing body, the UCI, to prevent Russian cyclists from competing. The International Olympic Committee has left it up to member associations to decide whether to ban Russians from the Games. ‘Zabelinskaya got two medals in London, tested positive a year after London, served a ban and — hey presto — she’s back in competition again just in time for Rio. That makes me pretty angry. I don’t trust her. I know her home anti-doping agency isn’t testing her properly out of competition,’ said Pooley (right). ‘I don’t think she should be in the race. I think anyone who tested positive should have a lifetime ban from the Olympics. I know it’s up to the UCI now. I would hope they wouldn’t allow the (Russian) cyclists to race.’ The IOC have ruled that Russians who have been banned for doping — such as Zabelinskaya — cannot compete, but those athletes are taking their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, who may yet uphold appeals. Swimmer Yulia Efimova has appealed against her ban. Pooley, 33, said: ‘As an athlete who’s regularly tested out of competition by UKAD and wherever I’m training by the local anti-doping agencies, it feels unfair when you could be racing against people you know haven’t had the same out-ofcompetition scrutiny. Out-of-competition testing is absolutely vital. ‘You look at a person and see if they’re an honest person; if they’ve tested positive before, I think it’s hard to trust them again.’