Russians May Be Barred From The 2020 Olympic Marathon Swim
Courtesy of WOWSA, Odaiba Marine Park, Tokyo Bay, Japan.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned Russia from international sports events, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, for 4 years due purposefully false doping tests.
But marathon swimmers in 2020 and, perhaps, ice swimmers in 2022 may be able to compete if they are proved innocent. Those innocent Russian athletes who can prove their innocence will be allowed to compete in neutral uniforms and, if they finish in a podium position, the athletes will see no Russian flag or hear the Russian national anthem in a celebration of their Olympic medals.
The sanctions announced by WADA include:
* Russian athletes banned from major competitions
* Russian government officials barred from attending all major sporting events
* Russia ineligible to host major international events during the four-year suspension period
For the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, no Russian marathon swimmers have yet to qualify. They will have another opportunity to qualify for Tokyo in the second Olympic 10 km Marathon Swim qualification race. The following 20 swimmers have qualified, not including a single Japanese male swimmer and a female swimmer to be confirmed later:
Men’s 2020 Olympic 10 km Marathon Swim Qualifiers:
1. Florian Wellbrock (Germany) 1:47:55.90
2. Marc-Antoine Olivier (France) 1:47:56.10
3. Rob Muffels (Germany) 1:47:57.40
4. Kristóf Rasovszky (Hungary) 1:47:59.50
5. Jordan Wilimovsky (USA) 1:48:01.00
6. Gregorio Paltrinieri (Italy) 1:48:01.00
7. Ferry Weertman (Netherlands) 1:48:01.90
8. Alberto Martinez (Spain) 1:48:02.20
9. Mario Sanzullo (Italy) 1:48:04.70
10. David Aubry (France) 1:48:05.10
Women’s 2020 Olympic 10 km Marathon Swim Qualifiers:
1. Xin Xin (China) 1:54:47.20
2. Haley Anderson (USA) 1:54:48.10
3. Rachele Bruni (Italy) 1:54:49.90
4. Lara Grangeon (France) 1:54:50.00
5. Ana Marcela Cunha (Brazil) 1:54:50.50
6. Ashley Twichell (USA) 1:54:50.50
7. Kareena Lee (Australia) 1:54:50.50
8. Finnia Wunram (Germany) 1:54:50.70
9. Leonie Beck (Germany) 1:54:51.00
10. Sharon van Rouwendaal (Netherlands) 1:54:51.10
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