Danil Lysenko was given a six-year ban by CAS  ©Getty Images

Russian high jumper Danil Lysenko has had a six-year ban confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), with two years suspended due to assistance provided by the athlete in cases against former Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) officials.

Lysenko had been charged by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for anti-doping rule breaches, including whereabouts failures and tampering with the results management process.

The CAS sanctioned Lysenko for two years for the whereabouts breaches and the Russian was given a further four-year punishment for tampering.

Two years have been suspended by CAS due to "substantial assistance that the athlete provided to the AIU in bringing charges against former RusAF officials, Dmitry Shlyakhtin and Artur Karamyan".

His sanction runs from the date of his provisional suspension on August 3 in 2018 to the end of August 3 in 2022, meaning Lysenko will miss the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene.

"We welcome the CAS decision," said AIU head Brett Clothier.

"This has brought closure to a protracted case that showed the lengths to which some individuals will go to cheat, but also the AIU’s capability to investigate such behaviour.

"We do hope this outcome serves as a warning against any form of fraudulent conduct in our sport."

The high jumper is the last of seven people to have been sanctioned in the case.

Danil Lysenko is the last of seven people to have been sanctioned in the case ©Getty Images
Danil Lysenko is the last of seven people to have been sanctioned in the case ©Getty Images

Lysenko's former coach Evgeniy Zagorulko had accepted a four-year sanction for tampering and complicity in connection with the AIU's investigation.

The CAS were due determine an appropriate suspension of his sanction after providing assistance with the charges against Shlyakhtin and Karamyan.

Zagorulko died at the age of 78 in April after contracting COVID-19.

He had reportedly been suffering from cancer.

Shlyakhtin, former RusAF Board member Karamyan and executive director Alexander Parkin were charged for serious breaches of anti-doping rules in November 2019, as well as senior administrator Elena Orlova and anti-doping coordinator Elena Ikonnikova.

Shlyakhtin and Karamyan were found guilty of tampering, complicity, failing to report an anti-doping rule violation and failing to cooperate with the AIU investigation.

Both officials were banned for four years in February, the maximum possible under the anti-doping rules.

Parkin, Orlova, and Ikonnikova were charged with tampering, complicity, failing to report an anti-doping rule violation and failing to cooperate with the AIU investigation.

The three officials were banned for four years.

Orlova and Ikonnikova were previously sanctioned for six and eight years, respectively, over their failure to comply with a demand by the AIU and an order of the Disciplinary Tribunal chair to comply.

Former RusAF President Dmitry Shlyakhtin was among the officials sanctioned in the case ©Getty Images
Former RusAF President Dmitry Shlyakhtin was among the officials sanctioned in the case ©Getty Images

Lysenko's first whereabouts failure concerned a missed test on September 19 in 2017, and was followed by him failing to provide a whereabouts filing for quarter two of 2018 by the deadline of March 31.

He then failed to provide a whereabouts filing for quarter three of 2018 by the deadline of June 30.

Lysenko, a former world indoor and Youth Olympic champion, gave a medical explanation for the second whereabouts violation, saying he had spent a week in hospital with acute appendicitis.

An AIU investigation later discovered the clinic had been demolished before Lysenko had allegedly been treated there, with photographs used on the clinic’s website having come from an insurance company.

No licences had been given to the individual who were said to have treated the athlete.

Lysenko later admitted the documents and explanations that he had provided to the AIU relating to his medical explanation "were false and fabricated".

He said "people from the Federation" had helped him create the story, and that "it was a commonly made decision to develop this story".

The AIU outlined how officials sought to provide Lysenko with a false medical certificate, which was accepted by the Tribunal.

Karamyan was also found to have destroyed documents as his computer had been wiped.

Lysenko's third whereabouts failure was claimed to have been due to his involvement in a car accident in Moscow in "mid-June".

The high jumper said the accident had occurred on June 20 in 2018, with photographs provided of his driving licence, his car registration documents, his damaged car and his face with a bruise on his forehead.

A WhatsApp conversation between Lysenko and Orlova revealed the athlete had confirmed the accident had in fact occurred on July 18.

Lysenko later provided the AIU with a statement prepared by RusAF, stating the accident occurred on June 20.

The Lysenko case contributed to RusAF's ongoing suspension by World Athletics.