Business Standard

Russia considers proposal to bar athletes from competing in more than two Olympic Games

Image

ANI London

In a bid to stop injury-prone athletes from denying places to young competitors, the Russian parliament would consider a proposal to bar athletes from competing in more than two Olympic Games.

A bill has been submitted for the same following an incident at last year's Sochi Winter Olympics when figure skater Evgeni Plushenko withdrew with a back injury at the last minute.

If the bill is introduced before Rio 2016, two-time Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva would miss out, the BBC reported.

Isinbayeva said that this proposal bears no relation to real life, adding that any athlete has the right to compete for as long as they can qualify for the Games.

 

Had the bill been introduced before Sochi, Alexander Zubkov, who carried the Russian flag at the opening ceremony at his fourth Olympics and went on to win two gold medals in bobsled, would have been unable to compete, the report added.

Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel

First Published: Apr 08 2015 | 12:12 PM IST

Explore News