Tatyana Chernova: Russian heptathlete banned for doping

Russian heptathlete Tatyana Chernova has been banned for two years for doping and stripped of two years' results - but keeps a gold medal she won by beating Britain's Jessica Ennis.

A sample taken from Chernova at the 2009 World Championships tested positive for a banned steroid.

The Russian anti-doping agency has banned her and annulled her records from 15 August 2009 to 14 August 2011.

Chernova, now 27, won world gold in Daegu, South Korea, on 30 August 2011.

Ennis, then the defending world champion, had to settle for silver.

However the following year Ennis - now Ennis-Hill - took Olympic gold in London, where Chernova finished third.

Chernova's two-year ban has been backdated to 22 June 2013.

Compatriot Yulia Zaripova, the Olympic women's 3,000m steeplechase champion, has been banned for two and a half years by the Russian anti-doping agency.

The ban has also been backdated, to July 2013, leaving her eligible for Rio 2016.

The 28-year-old's biological passport showed the use of a banned method for replicating high-altitude conditions.

Zaripova won gold at London 2012 with a personal best, but that result has been annulled and she could lose the medal.

The Russian missed the August 2013 World Championships in Moscow after injuring her leg in training, and then said she was taking a break to have a baby.

Last week, Russia's athletics head coach Valentin Maslakov resigned after a number of athletes from the country were found guilty of committing doping offences.

The World Anti-Doping Agency is investigating allegations of widespread doping and corruption in Russian athletics after claims were aired in a recent German television documentary, with a report due to be published by the end of the year.

The IAAF said last week it was concerned about the number of Russian doping cases in the sport.