MOSCOW — Maria Abakumova and Tatiana Lebedeva say they grudgingly accepted guilt and will not further appeal the bans that followed retesting of doping samples taken in 2008, Russian media reported on Wednesday.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport in July dismissed appeals by the pair and cyclist Ekaterina Gnidenko against their Olympic disqualifications for doping.
"I went to court against the IOC and WADA to the bitter end," Lebedeva told R-sport agency. "But I've understood that in the existing situation there's no point carrying on. It's just a waste of time and money."
Lebedeva, 42, lost the silvers she won in triple jump and long jump in Beijing. She retired in 2013 after dominating long jump and triple jump for much of the previous decade. She keeps the long jump gold from the 2004 Athens Olympics and triple jump silvers in Greece and Sydney four years previously.
The 32-year-old Abakumova was stripped of the silver medal she won in javelin in Beijing.
Russia's athletics federation president Dmitry Shlyakhtin said that more of the country's suspended athletes are still waiting for a CAS verdict on their own cases.
"I confirm that Abakumova was banned for four years," R-sport agency quoted Shlyakhtin as saying. "Lebedeva is in the same situation. Many of our athletes are temporarily suspended and their cases are under examination by CAS."
Meanwhile, the head of Russia's anti-doping body on Tuesday was downcast about the prospects of the organization being reinstated into the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
The governing body of world Athletics has said it will uphold Russia's ban from track and field events over mass doping until such a reinstatement takes place.
"My forecast is negative," RUSADA director-general Yury Ganus told a press conference in Moscow regarding the chances of readmission when the WADA executive committee meets on Sept. 20.
Ganus, who was appointed RUSADA chief last year, said WADA was under "huge pressure, including political pressure".
RUSADA was suspended from the world organization in November 2015 following revelations of a vast doping scandal involving Moscow's main drug-testing laboratory.
WADA has set out a road map detailing the path the body must undertake to rejoin the ranks of recognized testing authorities. RUSADA has already seen staff changes and serious reforms aimed at restoring the agency's reputation.
The agency has been allowed to resume doping tests under the supervision of WADA-appointed monitors and the UK Anti-Doping Agency. However, it has failed to meet two WADA conditions.
These are granting access to its Moscow laboratory and samples stored there, as well as fully accepting the findings of the bombshell McLaren report into Russian doping. Russia's non-compliance has led to an Athletics deadlock.
Russian track and field athletes were barred from the 2016 Olympics and 2017 World Championships in London, with the exception of a handful of Russian athletes competing under a neutral banner.
The country was also formally banned from taking part in this year's Winter Olympics, but 168 athletes deemed "clean" were allowed to compete as neutrals. — AFP
