While the delay to the Tokyo Olympics to 2021 could offer the opportunity for additional Russian track and field athletes to compete, one Russian athlete has given her take as to why the Games were called off this year.
The international federation announced earlier this month that a maximum of 10 Russians would be allowed to take part in the Tokyo Games as Authorised Neutral Athletes (ANAs) as part of a reintegration process, after the new president of the Russian federation (RusAF), admitted doping rule breaches by the previous regime.
Russia was fined $US10 million ($A16m), the first half of which is due by July 1.
Yet that hasn't stopped gymnast Svetlana Khorkina from airing her own coronavirus conspiracy theory over the shutdown in Tokyo.
According to Khorkina, the coronavirus outbreak is a message from god to the sporting officials who banned the Russians from competing because of the country's doping record.
"I think this all happened because they shouldn't have offended Russia, including our athletes," she told Sport Express.
"It was unnecessary to start this political show when such a deadly virus is being spread all over the world," she said. "I think this was God's punishment.
"There is a reason why there is a line in our national anthem that says our land is protected by the Lord."
Strict criteria has been laid down for the Russians to abide by, as World Athletics president Lord Sebastian Coe accepted the postponement of the Games due to the coronavirus had created a "different landscape" which may mean that more athletes are allowed to take part in 2021.
"That is something we would want to discuss with the task force," he said on Friday.
"As you know, we created the independent task force and we have been well served by their deliberations on this, and we have got to the position we have in large part because of the work of the task force.
"The World Athletics Council has on every occasion accepted the recommendation of the task force. So yes, looking down the track, everybody is in a very different landscape so that will have to be looked at."
Coe also addressed the issue of drug-testing generally, which has been impacted by the pandemic.
"I have a really clear message about this - we're not in a test-free zone at the moment," he warned.
"The one thing athletes need to reflect on is that if you take the World Anti-Doping Agency, the national anti-doping agencies, the Athletics Integrity Unit, these are organisations that are playing at the top of their game."
-with AAP
from WWOS http://wwos.nine.com.au/news/covid19-coronavirus-russian-conspiracy-theory-emerges/b5c532f3-72a9-4c58-beb3-d4ad76cb5c62
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