Mariya Sergeyevna Savinova (Russian: Мария Сергеевна Савинова; born 13 August 1985) is a Russian former athlete who specialized in the 800 metres event. In 2017, she was found guilty of doping and was subsequently suspended from competition for four years. In addition to the ban, she had three years of elite results nullified and was stripped of both her World Championship medals (2011 and 2013) and her 2012 Olympic gold medal.

Mariya Savinova
Savinova in 2012
Personal information
Nationality Russia
Born (1985-08-13) 13 August 1985 (age 39)
Chelyabinsk, Soviet Union
Height1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight60 kg (132 lb)
Sport
SportRunning
Event800 metres
ClubDynamo Sports Club
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Russia
Olympic Games
Disqualified 2012 London 800 m
World Championships
Disqualified 2011 Daegu 800 m
Disqualified 2013 Moscow 800 m
European Championships
Disqualified 2010 Barcelona 800 m
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 2010 Doha 800 m
European Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 2009 Turin 800 m

Career

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Savinova was born in Chelyabinsk. In 2009, she became the European indoor champion in the 800-metres and the World indoor champion (also in the 800 m) one year later. She originally was awarded gold medals at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, and the 2012 Olympic Games in London.[1] In 2013, she captured silver in the 800-metres in the World Championships in Moscow.[2]

Doping suspension

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In December 2014, in an undercover documentary filmed by a Russian whistleblower which aired on German TV, Savinova admitted to injecting testosterone and using the anabolic steroid oxandrolone. She said, "Oxandrolone is very quickly out of my body again. It takes less than 20 days. We have tested that. My husband has very good contacts at the doping control laboratory."[3][4] The footage led to Savinova's blood samples being re-examined and launched an investigation by the World Anti-Doping Agency into Russia.[5]

In August 2015, the IAAF charged her with doping violations. The case was referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in 2017.”[6] Not long after, in November 2015, Savinova was one of five Russian runners the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recommended to receive a lifetime ban for doping during the London Olympics, along with Ekaterina Poistogova.[7][8][9]

On 10 February 2017, the Court of Arbitration for Sport issued a 43-page opinion[6] which noted that, “It follows from the information and intelligence provided by Ms. Yuliya Stepanova (Savinova's teammate) that the Athlete [Savinova] used prohibited substances over a long period of time." The CAS upheld the four-year ban for Savinova, nullified her results from July 2010 to August 2013, and stripped her of the medals she was awarded during that time, including prize money and appearance fees.[4][10]

International competitions

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Representing   Russia
Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2008 World Indoor Championships Valencia, Spain Heats 800 m 2:06.72
2009 European Indoor Championships Turin, Italy 1st 800 m 1:58.10
World Championships Berlin, Germany 5th 800 m 1:58.68
2010 World Indoor Championships Doha, Qatar 1st 800 m 1:58.26
European Championships Barcelona, Spain DSQ 800 m 1:58.22
Continental Cup Split, Croatia DSQ 800 m 1:58.27
2011 World Championships Daegu, South Korea DSQ 800 m 1:55.87
2012 Olympic Games London, United Kingdom DSQ 800 m 1:56.19
2013 World Championships Moscow, Russia DSQ 800 m 1:57.80

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Mariya Savinova". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
  2. ^ "IAAF World Championships Moscow 2013 Russia Sarinova 800 m Final Silver". www.youtube.com posted by WorldAthletics.org. 10 August 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Russia's London 2012 champion caught in doping storm". 3 December 2014.
  4. ^ a b Payne, Marissa. "Russian runner who admitted on video to doping is stripped of Olympic gold". washingtonpost.com. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  5. ^ "Caster Semenya in line for 2012 800-meter gold after Mariya Savinova banned". www.espn.com. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  6. ^ a b Perelman, Rich (31 August 2018). "ATHLETICS: Doping positive vs. Savinova upheld by CAS". www.thesportsexaminer.com. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  7. ^ "WADA report says Russian government complicit in doping, coverups | CBC Sports".
  8. ^ "Ban All Russian Track Athletes: World Anti-Doping Agency Panel". NBC. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  9. ^ Gibson, Owen (9 November 2015). "Russia accused of 'state-sponsored doping' as Wada calls for athletics ban". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  10. ^ "THE COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT (CAS) IMPOSES FOUR-YEAR PERIOD OF INELIGIBILITY ON RUSSIAN ATHLETE MARIYA SAVINOVA-FARNOSOVA" (PDF). Court of Arbitration for Sport. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
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