On June 27, Beijing time, the World Athletics Federation announced another amnesty for the list of 61 Russian track and field athletes who can participate in international competitions as neutral athletes. In the latest batch of lists, the name of 30-year-old "white Liu Xiang" Shubenfu is prominently listed. That means Shukov is likely to compete in next month's Tokyo Olympics. Shukov was the first white 110-meter hurdles to reach the 13-second mark and a 2015 World Championships champion in Beijing, and his last appearance at the Olympics was at the 2012 London Olympics, when China had Shi Dongpeng, Liu Xiang and Xie Wenjun competing.
Shubakov was born on October 4, 1990, in his hometown of Barnaul in Altai Krai. His mother, shukova, was a famous women's heptathlete in the former Soviet Union, and it was only at the age of 16 that Shukov decided to start professional sports training.
The pinnacle of Shukov's career was when he won the World Championship in 12.98 seconds at the Beijing Bird's Nest in 2015, the first time he ran to the 13-second mark and the first time in the history of a white runner to run into 13 seconds. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, he was affected by the World Athletics Federation's global ban by the Russian Athletics Association and unfortunately did not qualify. 2018 was the peak of his form, with four opens of 13 seconds in the year to set a personal high of 12.92 seconds, and the top 7 world bests in the world that season.
This time Shukov was able to get an amnesty, and the experience was also full of twists and turns. At the end of last year, he tested positive for a drug test, and after the incident came to light in January, even the Russian sports minister personally flew from Moscow to Barnaul to preside over the investigation. On June 22 this year, Shukov's drug-related incident came to a successful end.
Foreign media reported that Shukov's sample was tested with a swimming diuretic and was originally subject to a ban of at least 4 years. Shukov's explanation to the IAAF's integrity department was that he was feeding his three-month-old son medicine because "children of this age can't swallow, so the pills must have been prepared in some way." This caused tiny, almost invisible powder particles to appear in my kitchen, causing a positive test. ”
The IAAF Integrity Department accepted Shukov's explanation and today formally pardoned him, granting him neutral athlete status. The IAAF said in the announcement that so far, a total of 123 Russian athletes have been declared eligible to compete as authorized neutral athletes in 2021, but 5 have their applications rejected.
However, whether Shukov can get tickets for the Tokyo Olympics still needs to be confirmed by the Russian Athletics Association, because the World Athletics Federation announced that no more than 10 Russian track and field athletes will be allowed to participate in this year's Tokyo Olympic Games. On 24 June, Shukhov ran 13.24 seconds in a race in Cheboksary, and he finished second in 13.15 seconds at the 2019 World Championships in Doha.
London 2012 Preliminary Round 1
London 2012 Preliminary Round 5
London 2012 Preliminary Round 6
In the semi-finals of the 2012 London Olympic Games, Xie Wenjun and Shukov were both out
No runner has yet to run 13 seconds this season, the world's best time of the season is Jamaica's Olympic champion McLeod running 13.01 seconds, the other day Holloway won the US Trials was only 13 seconds 11 seconds, Shukov is fully equipped to compete for medals at the Tokyo Olympics. Only the last time he played in the Olympics he was just a 21-year-old youngster, this time he is already a 30-year-old veteran. The Chinese counterparts who competed with him have changed from three people 9 years ago to only one person left.