Minichiello wants Chernova's ban re-examined

TatyanaChernova-cropped

Tatyana Chernova's backdated drugs ban should be re-examined, according to Jessica Ennis-Hill's coach Toni Minichiello.

Heptathlete Chernova was suspended by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency on Friday after she tested positive for an anabolic steroid.

The doping offence saw Chernova's results from August 15 2009 to August 14 2011 wiped out by the Russian authorities, with a two-year ban - backdated to June 22 2013 - handed down to the 27-year-old.

The backdated penalty means Chernova will be able to return to competition by June, keeping her in contention for a berth at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

Chernova beat British athlete Ennis-Hill to gold at the 2011 World Championships in South Korea and Minichiello has called on the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to look into punishment.

"In Daegu, she set a personal best with the benefit of drug use in the previous years," Minichiello told BBC Sport.

"It is a frustration for us because the period in between the two bans there is a medal loss but it is a positive that she has finally been caught.

"Maybe it highlights that there is a gap within the anti-doping code which allows only a two-year ban from the initial test and then another ban from the date of the re-test.

"I think it should probably all run seamlessly and athletes should be banned for the whole time. Otherwise you have a ban for Chernova that really looks quite ineffective."

Minichiello added: "It would be frustrating if she lines up on the starting line but those are the rules out there and we need to abide by them.

"That is why we think WADA needs to look at its code and penalties to show there is potentially a loophole that needs to be looked. I'm sure the Russian anti-doping agency have administered suspensions according to the rules, so therefore it needs to be looked at."

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