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Where Racewalking Is King, the Antidoping Officials Are Busy

17-06-2015 12:30am

#1

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At the helm of the Russian racewalking program is Viktor Chegin, the sandy-haired, dark-eyed trainer whose name adorns the facade of the center in Saransk. Responsible for coaching all three Russian athletes who swept the 2009 world championships, as well as multiple Olympic medal winners and world-record holders in the years since, Chegin was exalted to hero stature here, formally named a “Chevalier of the Order of Glory of Mordovia” and proclaimed by the local government “the father of all the victories of our racewalkers.”

In 2010, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia gave a speech in which he referenced the success of Mordovia’s sports facilities, and plans were announced to erect a statue of Chegin in Saransk that would serve as a “living memorial.”

But now Chegin and the racewalking center in Saransk are in the middle of one of the biggest doping scandals in the history of track and field. As far back as 2008, Chegin faced accusations of systematic doping when five of his athletes tested positive for banned substances on the eve of the Beijing Olympics. To date, 26 Russian racewalkers have been barred from the sport for doping violations, at least 20 of them trained by Chegin.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/sports/olympics/where-racewalking-is-king-the-antidoping-officials-are-busy.html?_r=0

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