Doping-Russian canoeists sanctioned after CAS upholds WADA appeals

Three Russian canoeists have been sanctioned after sport's highest tribunal upheld appeals by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the canoeing federation's decision not to pursue anti-doping rule violations against them.

Alexander Dyachenko, a 2012 Olympic gold medallist, and Nikolay Lipkin were each banned for four years while Aleksandra Dupik received a two-year ban, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said.

The International Canoe Federation (ICF) had said there was insufficient evidence to bring individual cases against the trio but WADA appealed that decision to CAS in March last year.

CAS said in a statement on Friday it was satisfied the three had "committed anti-doping violations and that the decision taken by the ICF not to pursue the matters was wrong".

Dyachenko and Lipkin were determined to have used the banned steroids trenbolone and metenolone in 2014, with Lipkin also testing positive for oxandrolone. Dupik used the banned masking agent furosemide the same year.

Dyachenko was also part of a group of five Russian canoeists who were banned from competing at the 2016 Rio Olympics after being implicated in a WADA report on state-sponsored doping.