MOSCOW, Oct 20: Twice world 1,500 metres champion Tatyana Tomashova was one of seven Russian female athletes to receive a two-year doping ban on Monday for manipulating drug samples, the Russian athletics federation (RAF) said.

Along with Tomashova, world indoor 1,500 metres champion Yelena Soboleva, distance runners Yuliya Fomenko and Svetlana Cherkasova, European discus champion Darya Pishchalnikova, former hammer world record holder Gulfia Khanafeyeva and former world 5,000 metres champion Olga Yegorova were banned.

“All seven women were found guilty and thus were banned for two years,” RAF President Valentin Balakhnichyov told reporters.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) suspended the seven women in July and banned them from competing at the Beijing Olympics in August after charging them with manipulating their drug samples.

“The athletes have been charged under IAAF Rules 32.2 (b) and 32.2 (e) for a fraudulent substitution of urine which is both a prohibited method and also a form of tampering with the doping control process,” the sport’s world governing body said at the time.

The IAAF said their drug samples taken in out-of-competition tests in May 2007 and then at last year’s world championships in Osaka did not match.

“We had undeniable proof of the athletes tampering with doping control process. The DNA in their samples just did not match,” Balakhnichyov said.

“We could have banned them right then but first we had to give the athletes the chance to defend themselves,” he said.

“In every respect, they could not provide an adequate proof of their innocence, thus we had no choice but to ban them for two years which is a minimum sentence in this case.”

The six athletes, except Yegorova who has since retired from the sport and did not attend any hearings, maintained their innocence.

“I don’t consider myself guilty,” Tomashova said, adding that she was planning to appeal. “As far as I know other girls are also planning to fight the ban in court.”—Reuters