Darya Vitalyevna Pishchalnikova (Russian: Дарья Витальевна Пищальникова, born 19 July 1985 in Astrakhan) is a female discus thrower from Russia. Pishchalnikova is the sister of Bogdan Pishchalnikov and Kirill Pishchalnikov.

Darya Pishchalnikova
Pishchalnikova (left) with Franka Dietzsch at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka
Personal information
Full nameДарья Витальевна Пищальникова
NationalityRussian
Born (1985-07-19) July 19, 1985 (age 39)
Astrakhan, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight95 kg (209 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
EventDiscus throw
Achievements and titles
Personal bestdiscus – 65.55 m (2006)
Medal record
Representing  Russia
Olympic Games
Disqualified 2012 London Discus throw
Updated on 14 August 2009

Career

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Pishchalnikova rose through the ranks as a young athlete, winning the silver medal in the discus at the 2001 World Youth Championships in Athletics, then repeating that feat at the World Junior Championships in 2004. She established herself as one of the top women's throwers at the 2006 European Athletics Championships, taking the gold medal with a throw of 65.55 metres, which remains her personal best.

She set a personal best throw of 65.78 metres when she won the silver medal at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, but that throw was to be subsequently discredited. She was selected to represent Russia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but on 31 July, she was suspended from competition due to doping test irregularities, along with several other high-profile Russian female athletes.[1] On 20 October 2008, it was announced that Pishchalnikova was one of seven Russian athletes receiving a two-year doping ban for manipulating drug samples.[2]

She returned to competition in 2011 and finished eleventh at the World Championships in Daegu that year. She took second place at the 2012 European Cup Winter Throwing, then had a personal best throw of 67.00 m in Adler in May. At the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meeting she was runner-up to Sandra Perković.[3] She won the Russian Championships with a throw of 70.69 m – the best performance in the event since 1992.[4]

Pishchalnikova participated in the 2012 Olympics and was awarded a silver medal. However, she tested positive for the anabolic steroid oxandrolone in the samples taken in May 2012. In April 2013 she was banned by the Russian Athletics Federation for ten years, and her results from May 2012 were annulled, meaning she was set on track to lose her Olympic medal.[5] According to the New York Times, she was a whistleblower who sent the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) a December 2012 email detailing state-run doping programs in which Russian athletes had to participate; her ban by the Russian Athletics Federation was likely in retaliation.[6]

Achievements

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Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing   Russia
2001 World Youth Championships Debrecen, Hungary 2nd 49.37 m
2002 World Junior Championships Kingston, Jamaica 8th 51.98 m
2004 World Junior Championships Grosseto, Italy 2nd 57.37 m
2005 European U23 Championships Erfurt, Germany 2nd 59.45 m
Universiade İzmir, Turkey 6th 57.52 m
2006 European Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 1st 65.55 m = PB
World Cup Athens, Greece 4th 61.39 m
2007 European U23 Championships Debrecen, Hungary DQ (2nd) DQ (64.15 m)
World Championships Osaka, Japan DQ (2nd) DQ (65.78 m) was PB
2011 World Championships Daegu, South Korea 11th 58.10 m
2012 Olympics London, United Kingdom DQ (2nd) DQ (67.56 m)

References

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  1. ^ "News". www.worldathletics.org. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
  2. ^ Seven Russians handed doping bans. BBC Sport. 20 October 2008.
  3. ^ Gains, Paul (2012-06-02). Dibaba 30:24.39 and Kiprop 27:01.98 on stunning but wet first night in Eugene – Samsung Diamond League. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-06-03.
  4. ^ Discus: Pishchalnikova Throws Season-Leading 70.69m. RIA Novosti (2012-07-05). Retrieved on 2012-07-05.
  5. ^ Fyodorov, Gennady (30 April 2013). "Pishchalnikova given 10-year doping ban". Reuters. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  6. ^ Macur, Rebecca R. Ruiz, Juliet; Austen, Ian (2016-06-15). "Even With Confession of Cheating, World's Doping Watchdog Did Nothing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-06-15.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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