“Brings down his colleagues and the whole country”: what is known about the recognition of the athlete Litvinov in doping

Former Russian hammer thrower Sergei Litvinov Jr.'s confession of doping came out of the blue.

In the media space, the son of the 1988 Olympic champion Sergei Litvinov has always been an ardent champion of the purity of sports.

In many interviews, he emphasized that it is possible and necessary to achieve high results without the use of prohibited drugs and methods.

In addition, he actively criticized the leadership of the All-Russian Athletics Federation for the doping scandal that erupted in 2015 and led to the exclusion from the international association IAAF, as well as the removal of athletes from the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

And now Litvinov said that at some point he stumbled himself.

Sergey wrote a post-repentance on a social network.

According to the athlete, he took anabolic steroids for a month in 2012, thereby benefiting from the alleged doping cover-up system in the country.

“From the end of April to the end of May 2012, I took oralturinabol and oxandrolone.

Before that, in February, I threw 79 meters, and with doping, this result improved by almost two meters.

The hammer flew further even in the absence of the necessary sensations and good technique.

At the time, I felt it was wrong.

I lost all my sense of technique, on which I had worked so hard before, and the hammer still flew far, ”Litvinov wrote.

According to the athlete, that episode was the only one in his career, as he quickly realized that he could not fully develop in throwing with prohibited pharmacological support.

The athlete did not make it to the national team for the 2012 Games, as he made three unsuccessful attempts during the qualifying championship of Russia (the only one among 15 participants).

“I was driven by the desire to get better and improve in my sport, a very difficult technical discipline.

I was interested in the training methods, technique and psychology of this sport.

Improving the result with the help of doping without (real. -

) improvement in these three aspects is bleak and pointless, ”Litvinov emphasized.

He also wrote that he was under pressure from the ARAF at the time, but he also acknowledged his own responsibility.

The athlete apologized to the athletics community and said that he had already shared all the details of this case with the independent organization for the fight against doping in athletics - Athletics Integrity Unit.

“In the end it was my decision and my fault.

When the doping scandal with Russia started, I tried to do everything possible to change the situation in my country for the better, creating anti-doping communities and helping investigative journalists such as Hajo Seppelt.

But he didn’t confess his mistakes, ”said the 36-year-old athlete.

Initially, it was not clear what motivated the loud recognition of the athlete.

So, the first vice-president of the VFLA, Irina Privalova, suggested that it could be done under pressure from public opinion in the West.

“I cannot comment on his recognition in any way, since in 2012 I did not work either in the federation or in the national team.

As for the moral side of the question, I was not surprised by his words.

Sergey lives in Germany and is under a certain psychological pressure, and in this state you can say anything.

Let's leave this statement to his conscience.

Speaking of events that supposedly took place more than ten years ago, he risks nothing, only pours dirt.

It is no longer possible to conduct some kind of investigation, but now there is such a situation that everyone will take their word for it, ”said the 2000 Olympic champion in a conversation with RT.

However, later the real reason for the revelations became clear.

ARAF announced that, based on data from the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory (LIMS) and the decision of the RUSADA commission, Litvinov was suspended for two years for violating anti-doping rules - from November 8, 2021 to November 7, 2023.

The results of the athlete in the period from July 14, 2012 to February 25, 2016 were canceled.

Thus, the athlete lost his most significant award - the bronze medal of the European Championship 2014.

That is, the Litvinov case is only a continuation of a long-lasting series of proceedings in Russian athletics, and not at all a voluntary confession of misconduct, as it seemed initially.

And the athlete's desire to attribute his doping case to "federation pressure" looks all the more low.

And the fact that the post-recognition is written in English speaks eloquently of the audience the former athlete was targeting.

The VFLA is not afraid that Litvinov's revelations will negatively affect the process of her restoration in World Athletics.

As is known, the membership of the Russian organization in the international federation was suspended more than seven years ago.

Last autumn, an audit was conducted, and the issue of the return of domestic athletics to the world family will be raised again in the spring.

“I don’t think that this (Litvinov’s words. - RT ) will somehow affect.

We are talking about the events of 2012, so he did not say anything new.

We already have a new federation, new people and relationships.

Now, if he said that yesterday his arms were twisted here and forced to drink pills, then there would be a different conversation.

We have a good working process with World Athletics now, and we, as they say in sports, are already at the finish line, ”Privalova emphasized.

In Russia, the athlete was sharply criticized.

So, the president of the Russian Wrestling Federation, Mikhail Mamiashvili, called him a scoundrel, and two-time Olympic champion in biathlon Dmitry Vasilyev said that Litvinov Jr. discredited the name of his father.

“The scoundrel - that's who he is, this Sergey, because he used doping, and then he can say whatever he wants.

He, firstly, deceived his rivals, and secondly, he discredited our country and our sport.

And it's idiots like him - I won't call it another way - they just created a negative background in relation to Russia.

That, they say, Russia is a doping country, but it is not.

There are individuals who make everything happen.

He also brings his colleagues and the whole country.

A person who dishonestly tries to win medals and titles does not deserve respect, ”RIA Novosti quotes Vasiliev.