Olympic high jump champ Chicherova barred from foreign competitions

Moscow : The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has refused to grant a neutral status to Olympic high jump champion Anna Chicherova and, so, barred her from performing at foreign competitions, the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) said on Friday.

"We have received a refusal to grant a neutral status for athlete Anna Chicherova from IAAF," the press service of RusAf told Tass news agency.

On June 30, Chicherova's suspension term for a doping rules violation expired. Russia's championship in Kazan, which ended on July 22, became the first competition after two years of suspension for Chicherova, aged 36. She came in second (1.90 meters) at the tournament in Kazan.

Chicherova is a 2012 Olympic champion and a 2011 world champion.