UCI drops CAS appeal, reaches settlement with Russian Olympic medallist
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Olga Zabelinskaya (Russia)(Image credit: RusVelo)
Olga Zabelinskaya won bronze for Russia in the road race and time trial at London 2012(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Olga Zabelinskaya (Russia) on the podium(Image credit: RusVelo)
Olga Zabelinskaya (Russia) scored her second bronze medal of the 2012 Olympics(Image credit: AFP)
Olga Zabelinskaya (Russian Federation)(Image credit: Sirotti)
Olga Zabelinskaya (Russia) outshone some much bigger names to secure the bronze medal in the Olympic women's time trial(Image credit: AFP)
Russian cyclist Olga Zabelinskaya has accepted an 18-month suspension after reaching a settlement with the UCI to drop its appeals process at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), according to the Associated Press.
In March 2014, Zabelinskaya tested positive for octopamine, a banned stimulant, but she denied any wrongdoing and the sanctioning process was delayed. The Russian Cycling Federation then cleared her of any wrongdoing in December 2015, which forced the UCI to appeal to CAS in the same month.
The sport governing body reached a settlement with Zabelinskaya and so the appeal has been dropped. In the report, the UCI said the case was "resolved via an acceptance of consequences."
Zabelinskaya’s settlement, an 18-month ban that expired in September 2015, means that she is now free to compete in the Olympic Games held in Rio de Janeiro in August.
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