2 banned boxers competed

MOSCOW - Two Russian boxers serving doping suspensions have competed while banned, Reuters has found, highlighting inconsistencies in Russia’s efforts to reform its antidoping practices.

Competition records show that Russian amateur boxers Islam Dashaev and Alena Tokarchuk fought in official tournaments last year despite bans announced by Russian antidoping agency RUSADA, which is forbidden under international anti-doping rules.

These lapses in the enforcement of their bans suggest that Russia, which says it has moved past its doping scandals, has yet to create an anti-doping culture in which all dopers are sidelined.

RUSADA said it had been unaware of the cases and said, after Reuters asked about them, that it would investigate.

“We do not know the reasons why these suspended athletes took part in competitions that were held under the Russian Boxing Federation’s jurisdiction and with its support,” RUSADA Deputy Director General Margarita Pakhnotskaya said in a statement to Reuters.

“The fact such athletes participated in competitions is alarming.”

Reuters was unable to reach the two boxers for comment.

Valery Karadutov, an official from the Russian Boxing Federation who oversaw one of the competitions and signed its results, said he had not been aware of the boxer’s ban.

Tatyana Kiriyenko, a deputy head of the federation, told TASS news agency that the two boxers took part in regional competitions.

“We have conducted an investigation, looked at the reports. These two athletes took part in competitions, they participated in one fight each,” she is quoted as saying by TASS.

Athletes serving doping bans are forbidden from participating in any capacity in competitions or activities related to elite sport, according to the rules of the World AntiDoping Agency (WADA).

If an athlete violates a doping ban, the duration of the suspension can be doubled.