Tatyana Firova

Tatyana Pavlovna Firova (Russian: Татьяна Павловна Фирова; born October 10, 1982) is a Russian former sprint athlete. She was awarded the silver medal in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Tatyana Firova

Firova behind Debbie Dunn during the 2010 World Indoor Championships
Personal information
Born	(1982-10-10) October 10, 1982 Sarov, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Weight	59 kg (130 lb)
Sport
Country	Russia
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	4 × 400 m relay
Medal record Olympic Games 2004 Athens 4 × 400 m relay Disqualified 2008 Beijing 4 × 400 m relay Disqualified 2012 London 4 × 400 m relay World Championships 2005 Helsinki 4 × 400 m relay Disqualified 2013 Moscow 4 × 400 m relay Disqualified 2009 Berlin 4 × 400 m relay European Championships Disqualified 2010 Barcelona 400 m Disqualified 2010 Barcelona 4 × 400 m relay World Indoor Championships Disqualified 2010 Doha 400 m Disqualified 2010 Doha 4 × 400 m relay Continental Cup Disqualified 2010 Split 4 × 400 m relay Disqualified 2010 Split 400 m

In 2016, it was announced that a reanalysis of samples from the 2008 Summer Olympics resulted in a doping violation by Firova. She was disqualified from the competition, and she and her teammates were stripped of their 4 × 400 m relay silver medals.[1] She claimed that using banned substances was necessary for achieving good results: "A normal person can take banned substances if they want to. So why can't athletes take them as well? How else can we achieve high results?"[2] Although offending athletes are required to return their stripped medals to the IOC, Firova refused to return her medals.[3]

In February 2019, the Court of Arbitration for Sport handed her a four-year ban for doping, starting from 9 June 2016, and all of her results from 20 August 2008 to 31 December 2012 were disqualified.[4]