Ekaterina Poistogova-Guliyev could be stripped of her 2012 Olympic 800m silver after Russia's doping ban. GETTY IMAGES

Russian athlete Ekaterina Poistogova-Guliyev, 33, will almost certainly be stripped of her silver medal in the 800 metres at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The Russian athletics federation, RusAF, has banned the athlete, who now competes for Turkey, for four years for past doping.

The Russian federation cancelled her results from July 2012 to October 2014 after analysing old samples. During this period she won Olympic bronze in London, which was later upgraded to silver after Russian winner Maria Savinova tested positive for doping.  

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had previously called for a lifetime ban for Poistogova following an investigation into systematic doping in Russia. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) suspended her for two years in 2017, but allowed her results from before October 2015 to stand.

The punishment was for violations committed in 2012 and 2013 and was based on data from the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory, according to the statement. Poistogova-Guliyev was only suspended until 2026 because she received compensation for the two-year ban she served after the CAS decision, RusAF said.

Ekaterina Guliyev (née Zavyalova, div. Poistogova) finished third in the 2012 Olympic final on 12 August, but moved up to second place when Russian winner Mariya Savinova was found guilty of doping violations. Both were coached by Vladimir Kazarin, who was banned for life after a WADA-commissioned report in 2015 found he had administered banned performance-enhancing drugs to athletes. 

Mariya Savinova, Vladimir Kazarin and Ekaterina Poistogova together at London 2012. GETTY IMAGES
Mariya Savinova, Vladimir Kazarin and Ekaterina Poistogova together at London 2012. GETTY IMAGES

If Poistogova-Guliyev is stripped of her medal, Kenya's Pamela Jelimo would take silver and American Alysia Montano bronze. The women's middle distance events at the London Olympics were heavily tainted by doping, with three runners in the 800m final having their results overturned: Russia's Savinova, Poistogova-Guliyev and Elena Arzhakova, who finished sixth.

The IOC will decide whether to strip them of their Olympic medals. If Poistogova is stripped of her silver medal, it will go to Pamela Jelimo of Kenya. The bronze would then go to American Alysia Montano.   

The women's middle distance events in London have been rife with doping. Three of the eight finalists in the 800 metres were disqualified. The same goes for five of the thirteen runners in the 1500 metres. RusAF also banned 3,000m steeplechase runner Nikolay Chavkin for two years and six months for similar offences.