Winning Russian Race-Walking Coach Banned For Life For Doping

Russia's top race walking coach Victor Chegin, seen here in 2013, has been banned for life for doping.

Russia's top race-walking coach Viktor Chegin has been banned for life for his involvement in doping.

The Russian anti-doping agency said on March 25 that Chegin, whose athletes won medals at the last three Olympics, was found guilty of two charges related to helping athletes to dope.

Chegin turned Russia's race walkers into a top world team and was rewarded with near-total control of a state-funded training center in Saransk named in his honor.

However, his success was undermined in recent years by more than 30 failed tests and doping cases involving Russian walkers, several from his center.

On March 24, the Court of Arbitration for Sport disqualified five of Chegin's walkers from Olympics, World Championships and other events they competed in between 2009 and 2013, and stripped them of Olympic medals and world championship titles they won at the events.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and TASS