Russian athlete compares doping ban to kindergarten poop incident
World champion hurdler Sergey Shubenkov compared the International Association of Athletics Federation’s suspension of Russia for doping violations to kindergarten where all kids were punished because someone “pooed in the wrong place.”
Shubenkov, 25, is one of many young Russian track and field athletes that may not be able to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro after the IAAF decided to ban Russia from international competition until it can prove compliance with anti-doping protocol. Until then, athletes like Shubenkov, who has never tested positive for any performance enhancing drugs, will be left out of global championships.
Shubenkov’s quote invites a follow-up question: What the heck is going on in Russian kindergartens?
Earlier this fall, two 5-year-old students in Magnitogorsk, Russia spent several days digging underneath their kindergarten’s perimeter fence in hopes of finding a Jaguar car dealership to buy a sports car. The teacher was fired for not being able to supervise her students.
Similarly, several Russian track and field coaches, agents and officials are being fired until they can clean up their own mess.
