The international sports tribunal has stripped Russian runner Maria Savinova-Farnosova of the London Olympics 800-meters gold medal and banned her for four years for doping.

Savinova-Farnosova, 31, won the 800-meter title ahead of South Africa's Caster Semenya.

If the International Olympic Committee decides to reallocate the medals from the 2012 final, Semenya will add that gold medal to the one she won at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said there was "clear evidence" that Savinova-Farnosova was involved in doping from 2010 until 2013 -- including for the 2012 London Games.

The CAS acted as the main tribunal in the case, as the Russian track-and-field federation is suspended by the world body, the International Association of Athletics Federations because of its doping controversy.

In 2014, Savinova-Farnosova was filmed undercover by Russian doping whistle-blower Yulia Stepanova, and appeared to admit to injecting banned substances.

The footage helped spark a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) investigation into Russia, and led to Savinova-Farnosova's blood samples being reexamined.

Following further evidence of widespread drug use, the Russian track team was suspended from all international competitions in November 2015 and missed last year's Olympics.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP</s>The international sports tribunal has stripped Russian runner Mariya Savinova-Farnosova of the London Olympics 800 metres gold medal and handed her a four-year ban for doping.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said there was "clear evidence" that Savinova was involved in doping from the eve of the European Championship in Barcelona in 2010 until the 2013 world championships in Moscow -- including for the 2012 London Games.

The ban was back-dated to start on August 24, 2015. CAS said all prizes won between July 26, 2010 and August 19, 2013, are forfeited.

The CAS acted as the main tribunal in the case as the Russian athletics federation is suspended by the world body, the International Association of Athletics Federations because of its doping controversy.</s>LAUSANNE:- The international sports tribunal Friday stripped Russian runner Mariya Savinova-Farnosova of the London Olympics 800 metres gold medal and banned her until 2019 for doping. The latest blow to Russia's sporting image should give South African Caster Semenya the 2012 Olympic title to add to the one she claimed in Rio last year. The Court of Arbitration for Sport said there was "clear evidence" that Savinova was involved in doping from before the European Championship in Barcelona in 2010 until the 2013 world championships in Moscow -- including for the 2012 London Games and the 2011 world championships in Daegu.–AFP</s>London 2012 gold medallist Mariya Savinova has been stripped of her 800 metres title and banned until 2019 after being found guilty of doping.

She has had her results from July 2010 to August 2013 annulled, but has 45 days to appeal against the decision.

The Russian beat South Africa’s Caster Semenya into second at the London Olympics and the 2011 World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

The 31-year-old Savinova also beat Britain’s Jenny Meadows to bronze at the 2010 European Championships.

Both Semenya and Meadows could now have their medals upgraded.

Savinova has also lost her 800m silver from the 2013 World Championships and her four-year suspension will be backdated to 2015.

The case against Savinova was brought by the IAAF based upon her biological passport, which the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has used to make its decision.

“On the basis of clear evidence, including the evidence derived from her biological passport (ABP), Mariya Savinova is found to have been engaged in using doping from July 26, 2010, the eve of the European Championship in Barcelona, Spain.

“This was through to Aug. 19, 2013, the day after the World Championship in Moscow.

“As a consequence, a four-year period of ineligibility, beginning on Aug. 24 2015, has been imposed and all results achieved between July 26, 2010 and Aug. 19, 2013 are disqualified and any prizes, medals, prize and appearance money forfeited,’’ a CAS statement read.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Savinova was one of five Russian athletes named in a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report into doping.

She has not raced since 2013 after being suspended during an investigation sparked by the release of undercover footage filmed by whistleblower Yuliya Stepanova.

Should the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decide to reallocate the medals from the London 2012 final, Semenya would be awarded a second gold medal.

The South African had claimed the 800m title in Rio last summer.

Savinova is now the second Russian finalist from that race to have been retrospectively banned, after Yelena Arzhakova.

A third — bronze medallist Ekaterina Poistogova — is also under investigation for doping.(NAN)

 OLAL

 =====</s>Savinova, who won the 800-meter title at the London Games ahead of Semenya, was also banned for four years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND—Russian runner Mariya Savinova was stripped of her 2012 Olympic gold medal for doping on Friday, putting Caster Semenya in line to become a two-time champion.

In 2014, Savinova was caught in undercover footage filmed by Russian doping whistleblower Yulia Stepanova appearing to admit to injecting testosterone and taking the banned steroid oxandrolone. The footage helped spark a World Anti-Doping Agency investigation into Russia, and led to Savinova’s blood samples being re-examined.

CAS said the 31-year-old Savinova was “found to have been engaged in using doping” from July 2010 until August 2013.

Following further evidence of widespread drug use, the Russian track team was suspended from all international competitions in November 2015 and missed last year’s Olympics.

Savinova has not raced competitively since 2013. She had been preparing for a comeback when she was filmed by Stepanova and then suspended during the investigation.

If the International Olympic Committee decides to reallocate the medals from the 2012 final, Semenya will add that gold medal to the one she won last year in Rio de Janeiro.

The original bronze medallist in the 2012 Olympic final, Ekaterina Poistogova of Russia, is also under investigation for doping. If she is banned, Pamela Jelimo of Kenya would be in line for silver, with bronze for Alysia Montano of the United States. Another Russian who originally finished sixth, Elena Arzahkova, was retrospectively disqualified in 2013 over blood doping.

Semenya could also become a two-time world champion by inheriting Savinova’s gold medal from 2011. Yvonne Hak of the Netherlands is in line for the 2010 European title.

The WADA commission which investigated Russian track and field had originally recommended a lifetime ban for Savinova.

She can appeal the CAS ruling.

In the footage filmed by Stepanova, Savinova said doping was the only way to succeed in Russian sport.

“What should we do? How should it go differently? That is our system and in Russia that only works only with pharma,” she said, according to a transcript produced by WADA. “Oxandrolone is very quickly out of my body out again. It takes less than 20 days.”

Savinova also said that her husband, former runner Alexei Farnosov, had used “contacts” at a drug-testing laboratory to help cover up her doping. The Moscow drug-testing laboratory was later shut down and its director testified he had covered up hundreds of failed tests by top Russian athletes.

Two top coaches who worked with Savinova, Alexei Melnikov and Vladimir Kazarin, have also faced punishment. Melnikov was banned for life by the IAAF last year, while Kazarin is suspended awaiting the results of an investigation, though he’s been accused of breaking that suspension by continuing to coach Russian runners.</s>Savinova-Farnosova stripped of prizes, medals and appearance money from July 2010 to August 2013.

Russian middle distance runner Mariya Savinova-Farnosova has been stripped of Olympic gold by the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS).

In a statement released on Friday, CAS said there was "clear evidence" the 31-year-old 800m runner used performance enhancing substances and banned her retrospectively for four years.

The Swiss-based athletics tribunal said her penalty would be enforced from August 24, 2015.

In addition, Mrs Savinova-Farnosova has been disqualified from all of her results from July 26, 2010, to August 19, 2013 - and has been stripped of all prizes, medals and appearance money earned during this period.

The athlete was a world champion in 2010 and 2011, as well as a gold medalist at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

If the ban is upheld, South African Caster Semenya - who finished behind Mrs Savinova-Farnosova in the 800m final at London 2012 - would have her silver medal upgraded to gold.

The World Anti-Doping Agency recommended that she should be banned for life in 2015.</s>Mariya Savinova-Farnosova has been given a four-year doping ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and been stripped of her London 2012 800 metres gold.

The 31-year-old, better known by her maiden name of Savinova, also loses her 2011 world outdoor title, 2013 world silver medal and 2010 European gold.

Savinova's Olympic gold and 2011 world title now go to South Africa's Caster Semenya, making her a double Olympic champion, while Britain's Jenny Meadows' European bronze is upgraded to silver.</s>Russian runner Maria Savinova has been stripped of her 2012 Olympic gold medal for doping, putting Caster Semenya in line to take to the title it was announced on Friday.

Savinova, who won the 800-meter title at the London Games ahead of Semenya, was also banned for four years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

CAS said Savinova was “found to have been engaged in using doping” from July 2010 until August 2013.

In 2014, Savinova was caught in undercover footage filmed by Russian doping whistleblower Yulia Stepanova appearing to admit to injecting testosterone and taking the banned steroid oxandrolone.

The footage helped to spark a World Anti-Doping Agency investigation into Russia.

Following further evidence of widespread drug use, the Russian track team was suspended from all international competitions in November 2015.</s>ZURICH (REUTERS) - Russia's Mariya Savinova has been stripped of her 2012 Olympics 800m gold medal after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Friday imposed a four-year ban saying there was "clear evidence" she used performance-enhancing drugs.

She is the latest in a growing list of Russian athletes to have past Olympic medals taken away over doping, as the nation struggles to overcome its most widespread doping scandal ever.

The retroactive four-year penalty starts from Aug 24, 2015, but CAS also disqualified all of Savinova's results from July 26, 2010, to Aug 19, 2013, thereby stripping her of her 2011 World Championships gold, 2013 World Championships silver and 2010 European Championships gold.

South Africa's double silver medallist Caster Semenya is now in line to be promoted to gold in both the 2012 Olympics and 2011 World Championships.

The 31-year-old was among the athletes that a commission set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recommended be banned for life in 2015.

"On the basis of clear evidence, including the evidence derived from her biological passport, Mariya Savinova-Farnosova is found to have been engaged in using doping from 26 July 2010 through to 19 August 2013," CAS said.

It took the action as the decision-making authority while the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) remains banned over the country's state-backed doping scandal.

More than 100 athletes have so far tested positive in retests of samples taken during the 2008 and 2012 Olympics conducted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Russia has the most positive retests per nation.</s>ZURICH: Russia's Mariya Savinova-Farnosova has been stripped of her 800m London 2012 Olympic Games gold medal after the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday imposed a four-year ban saying there was "clear evidence" she used performance-enhancing drugs.

The four-year penalty is retroactive to Aug. 24, 2015, the Swiss-based athletics tribunal said in a statement with Savinova also stripped of her 2011 world championships gold, 2013 world silver and 2010 European gold.

South Africa's double silver medallist Caster Semenya is now in line to be promoted to gold in both the 2012 Olympics and 2011 world championships.

All of Savinova-Farnosova's results between July 26, 2010 and Aug. 19, 2013, are disqualified, with any prizes, medals and prize and appearance money forfeited.

The 31-year-old former 800 metre world and Olympic champion was among athletes that a commission set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recommended be banned for life in 2015.

CAS took the action as the decision-making authority while Russia's athletics federation remains banned over the country's state-backed doping scandal.

Almost the entire track and field team of Russia were banned from competing at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Russian track and field athlete Mariya Savinova is banned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport from partaking in any sporting events for four years and is stripped of her gold medal that she won in the 800 metres at the 2012 Summer Olympics for doping between 2010 and 2013.