Nadzeya Astapchuk: We translate documents for IAAF

The International Olympic Committee deprived four sportsmen of Athens Olympic medals on December 5. There were two Belarusians among them - hammer thrower Ivan Tsihan (methandienone was found in his test) and putter Iryna Yatchanka (methandienone and oxandrolone).

We asked Yatchanka's former coach Uladzimir Siutsou about the details of the doping scandal.

“I am ill and I am feeling bad at the moment. I do not want to interfere and comment on this issue, - the coach avoided the conversation. -  Sorry, forgive me my illness now."

Iryna Yatchanka at Athens Olympics

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Famous Russian coach Sergei Litvinov trained Ivan Tsihan before the Olympic Games in Athens and Beijing.

Ivan encountered doping issues in both cities. He managed to get the Beijing bronze medal back. But it required 400 thousand dollars and  lot of nerves. The coach comments on the accusations of that time:

“It was an ordinary and hasty documentary reason. A wave appeared during the investigation: let us conduct an independent expertise. But it was impossible because all the samples had been thrown away, they did not expect it."

Euroradio: Are falsifications possible at such a level?

Sergei Litvinov: “It is like ultimate fighting. You can find anything in urine nowadays. There can be concocted cases. Sportsmen and coaches are afraid: when somebody wants to remove a person, it will be done no matter how clean he or she is. You can struggle if you have money and nerves."

Euroradio: Is there a way out?

Sergei Litvinov: “It would be different if there were some structure like a trade union. But the principle of Pierre de Coubertin says that sport is a hobby. You need a professional activity to be able to create such a structure."

Іvan Tsіhan

Ukrainian Yurii Bilanog and Russian Svetlana Krivelyova have also been deprived of their Athens medals. In fact, Nadzeya Astapchuk (who was deprived of her London Olympics gold medal in August) should be able to get the bronze medal that used to belong to the latter. However, our sportswoman does not expect it. Nadzeya has mentioned a lot of documents proving that athletes from former Soviet republics are being hunted for.

Nadzeya Astapchuk: “They took about 2000 samples but checked only 200 of them. The samples belonged to Belarusians, Russians, Ukrainians. I think there was also Kazakhstan and so on. The biased attitude is demonstrated in several other cases too. They checked us 3 or 4 times more often than our rivals. People were being watched!"

Euroradio: There are rumours that it is impossible to achieve top results in shot put without doping...

Nadzeya Astapchuk: “Doping is used to achieve quick results. There is no guarantee that such a person will perform better. The technique and the person's character are more important. Some people think that you can take a pill and become an Olympic champion. It is not true."

Euroradio: Is anybody helping you in this difficult time?

Nadzeya Astapchuk: “Not now. We are translating documents for the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) with mu coach. Some people have left our federations, others are not doing much."

Euroradio: How do you survive? You have been deprived of all your income...

Nadzeya Astapchuk: “I am not a poor person, I have made some money. It is enough for me at the moment. I am going to wait for the decision concerning my disqualification and then I will decide what to do next."

Can the idea of a plot aimed against post-Soviet sportsmen be true? Why do Belarusians get checked so often? Euroradio asked international officials about it once. The answer was rhetorical: "They are good sportsmen, therefore we check them."

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