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MOSCOW - THE Olympics have not even started, but track and field is facing another major drugs scandal involving top stars.
The International Association of Athletics Federations has suspended seven Russian athletes, five of whom had been set for Beijing.
They have been charged with tampering with urine samples to try and escape drug testing.
Yelena Soboleva is the world indoor record-holder in the 1,500m and the world indoor champion.
She was expected to represent Russia in the 800m, for which she also holds the fastest time this year, and 1,500m in Beijing.
'I totally disagree with this verdict as I have absolutely no reason to consider myself guilty. Naturally, I will contest this,' she said.
'However, as we are talking about the national team and the Olympic Games, I am resigned to the IAAF's decision.
'I'd like to apologise to the fans that we have ended up in this position, albeit through no guilt of our own.'
Tatyana Tomashova is a two-time world champion in the 1,500m and won an Olympic silver medal in 2004.
Darya Pishchalnikova is the European discus champion, and former hammer world record-holder Gulfiya Khanafeyeva produced this season's fifth-best result.
Along with Yuliya Fomenko, another 1,500m runner, they complete the five who will miss the Games.
The other two suspended are Olga Yegorova, the 5,000m world champion in 2001, and Svetlana Cherkasova (800m), who competed at the 2004 Olympics.
The IAAF decided to suspend the athletes after using comparative DNA techniques to check their urine. The investigation took more than a year.
The news comes a day after the Russian Anti-Doping Agency executive council's chairman Vyacheslav Sinyov claimed: 'Ninety-five per cent of the Olympic national team sportsmen heading to Beijing have passed doping control.'
The country's Olympic committee said 12 billion roubles (S$700,000) had been spent on preparations for the Games, where Russia are expected to contest the top three final standings.
The scandal comes in a year of international success in arenas beyond the Olympics.
In May, the national ice hockey team beat Canada for their first world championship in 15 years and St Petersburg's Zenit soccer club won the Uefa Cup.
Last month, the national soccer team created a frenzy by advancing to the semi-finals at the European Championship. In the world tennis rankings, five of the top 10 women are Russian.
Now, their best middle-distance runners stand accused of cheating. And not for the first time.
Yegorova has been embroiled in controversy before.
The IAAF ruled she could run in the 2001 World Championships because French authorities had failed to test her blood as well as her urine when she tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO) at a Golden League meeting in Paris.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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