Russian walker stripped of 2010 European 20K gold

MOSCOW (AP) Russian walker Stanislav Emelyanov has been stripped of his gold medal from the 20-kilometer walk at the 2010 European championships for irregularities in his biological passport.

The IAAF confirmed the decision on Wednesday.

The date given for the start of the sanction was July 26, 2010, the day before Emelyanov won his European gold medal, meaning that result became invalid.

The gold passes to second-place Alex Schwazer of Italy, who retired in 2012 after testing positive.

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency is already investigating the Russian walking team over repeated doping violations, including a two-year ban last month for Olympic and world champion Elena Lashmanova.