‘What happened today is a disgrace!’: High jump world champion Maria Lasitskene

Russian high jump world champion Maria Lasitskene has commented on the ban imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), vowing that she will continue proving that Russian sport “is alive” despite having a neutral status.

The 26-year-old took to social media to react to WADA’s decision to ban Russia from all international events, noting that she had expected such an outcome.

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“I had no doubts such an outcome would finally take place,” Lasitskene wrote on Instagram. “I didn’t believe all those stories that tried to convince us that everything would be ok. What happened today is a disgrace!” she added.

Lasitskene, who this year became the first woman in history to win three high jump world titles, emphasized that Russian athletes have been forced to fight alone for their rights, without any help from Russian authorities.

“My future plans? I will fight for my rights to compete. I have never planned to change my citizenship and I’m not planning to do it now. I will prove in the jumping sector that Russian athletes are still alive, even in neutral status.

“I have been doing it for the last many years. The only thing that upsets me is that Russian authorities have been protecting athletes only on paper, without any concrete actions.”

Russia has been handed a four-year ban from major sporting events, including the Olympics and football World Cup, after the Executive Committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) approved sanctions on Monday.

The move comes after Russia was alleged to have manipulated data provided to WADA from a Moscow anti-doping laboratory.

Russia will also be prohibited from hosting the international sporting events for the suspension period.