Liliya Shobukhova to serve life ban

Paris: Liliya Shobukhova will still be excluded for life from all the world’s major marathons despite a reduction in her doping ban from WADA on Monday. The 37-year-old Russian saw her ban cut because of help she provided in the battle against drugs, but she will also face a lawsuit brought by the London Marathon organisers to reimburse her prize money for winning the 2010 edition and finishing runner-up a year later.

She also won the Chicago Marathon on three occasions from 2009-11 but had all those results erased after being banned for three years and two months by the sport’s governing body, the IAAF. The ban, running from January 24 2013 to March 23 2016, was based on abnormalities in the haematological profile of her biological passport, which indicates a high probability of blood doping.

However, on Monday the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said it had reduced her suspension by seven months because of her unspecified help in the battle against the use of drugs in sport — aid she had offered in May 2014.

“The information and documentation provided by Ms. Shobukhova has been of substantial value in uncovering and investigating anti-doping rule violations committed by other individuals, including athlete support personnel,” WADA said in a statement.

“WADA considered the information provided by Ms. Shobukhova to be of significant value to clean sport.” The IAAF — whose showpiece event the World Athletics Championships is currently taking place in Beijing — issued a statement taking note of WADA’s decision but added that like the anti-doping body it could not comment on a specific case although it added that athletes could be useful allies in combating cheating in the sport.