Yevgeniya Pecherina (Russian: Евгения Печерина; born 9 May 1989) is a Russian track and field athlete who specialises in the discus throw.

Mainly competing in national level competition, she gradually improved as a thrower, setting a best of 51.02 m (167 ft 4+12 in) at age nineteen, clearing 56.08 m (183 ft 11+34 in) in 2009, and then 58.94 m (193 ft 4+14 in) the following year at age twenty-one.[1] In international competition, she took sixth place at the 2009 European Athletics U23 Championships.[2]

She had a sudden marked improvement in the 2011 season, managing a personal best throw of 65.77 m (215 ft 9+14 in) in Krasnodar, which ranked her fifth globally that year.[3] However, later that month, she gave a positive drug test for the banned anabolic steroid methandienone. She received a two year ban from the sport.[4] Immediately prior to the end of her ban, she again gave a positive drug test, this time for Dehydrochloromethyltestosterone, another steroid. This resulted in a ten-year ban from the sport.[5]

Pecherina was interviewed for a German documentary, Top-secret Doping: How Russia makes its Winners, shown on Das Erste in December 2014. She claimed that doping was widespread in Russia, with the majority of international athletes using performance-enhancing drugs, which were made freely available to them.[6] The Russian Anti-Doping Agency and the Russian Athletics Federation both said that her statements were baseless.[7] However, the federation president (and IAAF treasurer) Valentin Balakhnichev was implicated in the cover up of doping by Liliya Shobukhova (a prominent marathon runner), and he stepped down from his position while the investigation was ongoing.[8][9]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Yevgeniya Pecherina. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-02-08.
  2. ^ 7th European Athletics U23 Championships Kaunas LTU 16 - 19 July. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-02-08.
  3. ^ Discus Throw - women - senior - outdoor - 2011. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-02-08.
  4. ^ Athletes currently suspended from all competitions in athletics following an Anti-Doping Rule Violation as at: 28.5.13. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-02-08.
  5. ^ Athletes currently suspended from all competitions in athletics following an Anti-Doping Rule Violation as at: 09.04.14. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-02-08.
  6. ^ Russian doping claims: 99% of athletes guilty, German TV alleges. BBC Sport (2014-12-04). Retrieved on 2015-02-08.
  7. ^ Russian authorities deny allegations of widespread doping among athletes. Sky Sports (2014-12-04). Retrieved on 2015-02-08.
  8. ^ Russian athletics chief quits IAAF. Associated Press (2014-12-10). Retrieved on 2015-02-08.
  9. ^ Wade, Alison (2014-12-18). Guide to Recent Doping News in Running. Runners' World. Retrieved on 2015-02-08.

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