Russian race walker banned for doping

IANS

Moscow, Dec 19 (IANS):

Russian race walker Sergey Morozov has been banned for life for doping, the Russian Athletics Federation said.

The federation Tuesday disqualified the 24-year-old for life “on the basis of deviations in the results of blood tests in his biological passport”, Xinhua quoted the body as saying.

Morozov was the 2005 World Youth and 2007 European Junior champion in the 10,000m walk. He made a record time of 1:16:43 to win the 2008 Russian 20km title.

However, he was banned after testing positive for erythropoietin (EPO) in 2008 and returned to competitions in 2010, representing Russia at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics.

He is now disqualified for life due to new blood test anomalies, said a statement.