Russia Stripped Of 2008 Olympics Relay Title Over Doping Charges

Russia was stripped of its 2008 sprint relay title over Yulia Chermoshanskaya’s failed doping test.

File photo of Russia’s Yuliya Chermoshanskaya (R). (Photo: AP)

Russia was stripped of its 4x100m women’s sprint relay title from the 2008 Beijing Olympics after team member Yulia Chermoshanskaya failed a doping re-test.

“The Russian Federation team is disqualified from the women’s 4x100m relay,” the International Olympic Committee said in a statement announcing Chermoshanskaya’s failure on Tuesday.

Chermoshanskaya, now 30, tested positive for two banned substances after samples from 2008 were re-analysed using more advanced detection techiques. Belgium finished second behind Russia in the 2008 race at Beijing’s ‘Bird’s Nest’ stadium, with Nigeria third and Brazil in fourth position.

Chermoshanskaya also had her eighth-place finish in the women’s 200m annulled because of her newly revealed doping offence. Anti-doping experts are re-analysing samples from both Beijing and the 2012 London Olympics to catch cheats who were able to beat the drug tests in use at the time. Russia has been in the spotlight at the ongoing Rio Olympics after revelations of a state-sponsored doping regime saw its team slashed by nearly a third.