<p>She&rsquo;s all but 14 years old, but she&rsquo;s already the &ldquo;world&rsquo;s fastest flyer.&rdquo; Singaporean Kyra Poh wowed crowds at the 2017 Windoor Wind Games in Spain recently, bagging two gold medals in the freestyle indoor skydiving competition.</p>

<p>During the competition, each contestant was required to perform two routines, both with and without music. The contestants were judged on the basis of the difficulty and variety of their routines, along with rhythm, choreography and artistic merit.</p>

<p>Kyra, when doing her routines, outshined every other contestant with a difficulty rating of 8.8 (the highest among her competitors). She finished first with a total of 361.217 points ahead of Czech Republic&#39;s Jakub Harrer (349.033) and Poland&#39;s Maja Kyczynska (340.751).</p>

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<p>Kyra Poh - A 14-year-old gold medalist who is &quot;World&#39;s fastest flyer&quot; (Others)</p>
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<p>Amongst all this, she also won the solo speed competition, where contestants had to perform random and compulsory routines in the fastest time possible.</p>

<p>Around 200 contestants in all participated in the Wind Games, which were held in Catalonia, Spain. Kyra was the smallest of them all, but she doesn&rsquo;t believe that this offered her any advantage.</p>

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<h5>A lot of people think that if you&#39;re lighter, you&#39;re faster. I don&#39;t think so. Because when you&#39;re small, you have less body surface area, so you can push off less wind. If you&#39;re taller, you can push off more and have more force. -Kyra Poh</h5>
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<p>Kyra also won the gold medal in the junior freestyle category at the FAI World Cup of Indoor Skydiving in Poland last year.</p>

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<h5>Humans are not meant to fly, but that has always been my dream. Now I can fly in a tunnel, so I&#39;m glad to find this sport. -Kyra Poh</h5>
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<p dir="ltr">Written&nbsp;By - Karanveer Singh Arora</p>

<p dir="ltr">(Image courtesy - <a href="http://elle.my.com">My.com</a>)</p>

<p dir="ltr">(First Posted - <a href="http://www.followyoursport.com">Follow Your Sport</a>)</p>


At the age of 14 when children are focused on their studies and playing, Kyra Poh only had one thing on her mind - Flying!

She’s all but 14 years old, but she’s already the “world’s fastest flyer.” Singaporean Kyra Poh wowed crowds at the 2017 Windoor Wind Games in Spain recently, bagging two gold medals in the freestyle indoor skydiving competition. During the competition, each contestant was required to perform two routines, both with and without music. The contestants were judged on the basis of the difficulty and variety of their routines, along with rhythm, choreography and artistic merit. Kyra, when doing her routines, outshined every other contestant with a difficulty rating of 8.8 (the highest among her competitors). She finished first with a total of 361.217 points ahead of Czech Republic's Jakub Harrer (349.033) and Poland's Maja Kyczynska (340.751). Kyra Poh - A 14-year-old gold medalist who is "World's fastest flyer" (Others) × Amongst all this, she also won the solo speed competition, where contestants had to perform random and compulsory routines in the fastest time possible. Around 200 contestants in all participated in the Wind Games, which were held in Catalonia, Spain. Kyra was the smallest of them all, but she doesn’t believe that this offered her any advantage. A lot of people think that if you're lighter, you're faster. I don't think so. Because when you're small, you have less body surface area, so you can push off less wind. If you're taller, you can push off more and have more force. -Kyra Poh × Kyra also won the gold medal in the junior freestyle category at the FAI World Cup of Indoor Skydiving in Poland last year. Humans are not meant to fly, but that has always been my dream. Now I can fly in a tunnel, so I'm glad to find this sport. -Kyra Poh × Written By - Karanveer Singh Arora (Image courtesy - My.com) (First Posted - Follow Your Sport)

Meet Kyra Poh - The 'world's fastest flyer'

<p>Rio de Janeiro&#39;s air is dirtier and deadlier than portrayed by authorities, and the Olympics&#39; promised legacy of cleaner winds has not remotely been met, an analysis of government data and Reuters&#39; own testing found.<br />
<br />
Brazil declared in its official bid for the Olympic Games, which open on Friday, that Rio&#39;s air quality was &quot;within the limits recommended by the World Health Organization&quot;.<br />
<br />
That was not true when Rio won the right to host the Games in 2009 and it is not true now.<br />
<br />
Rio for years has surpassed WHO limits for the most dangerous air pollutant,&nbsp;called particulate matter (PM),&nbsp;spewed from millions of vehicles clogging the city&#39;s roads.<br />
<br />
Thousands die annually in Rio&#39;s metropolitan area of 12 million people because of complications related to the air. People exposed to the pollution have higher risks of lung cancer, heart attacks, strokes, asthma and other diseases.<br />
<br />
&quot;This is definitely not &#39;Olympic air&#39;,&quot; said Paulo Saldiva, a University of Sao Paulo pathologist and member of the WHO committee that set tougher global pollution standards in 2006.<br />
<br />
&quot;A lot of attention has been paid to Rio&#39;s water pollution, but far more people die because of air pollution than the water,&quot; he said. &quot;You are not obligated to drink water from Guanabara Bay, but you must breathe Rio&#39;s air.&quot;<br />
<br />
Rio&#39;s contaminated Olympic waterways have drawn attention as the city suffers endemic levels of gastrointestinal diseases from a lack of sewage collection. Reuters recently reported that Rio&#39;s Olympic water venues and favourite beaches also tested positive for drug-resistant &quot;super bacteria&quot;.<br />
<br />
But there has been no talk of Rio&#39;s air pollution, three-quarters of which is caused by exhaust fumes from the 2.7 million vehicles on its roads, according to Rio state&#39;s environmental protection agency, Inea.<br />
<br />
Its data shows that since 2008, Rio&#39;s air has consistently been two to three times above WHO&#39;s annual limit for PM 10 - so called because the particulate matter has a diameter of 10 microns or less, seven times smaller than that of a human hair.<br />
<br />
That means Rio has the dirtiest air of any Olympic host city since scientists began consistently tracking PM 10 in the late 1980s, with the exception of Beijing in 2008.<br />
<br />
Tania Braga, head of sustainability and legacy for the Rio Olympics organising committee, said air quality cannot be judged on PM data alone and other pollutants are at low levels.<br />
<br />
Saldiva dismissed that, saying &quot;the health damages associated with PM pollution are the most severe of all pollutants&quot; and, because of that, Rio&#39;s air is of poor quality.<br />
<br />
The WHO says on its website that &quot;PM affects more people than any other pollutant,&quot; that outdoor pollution caused 3.7 million premature deaths worldwide in 2012 and that those deaths were due to exposure to PM 10.&nbsp;The UN&nbsp;body did not respond to requests for comment on Rio&#39;s air quality.<br />
<br />
Using the WHO&#39;s methodology on estimating mortality, Saldiva calculates some 5,400 people died in Rio because of air pollution in 2014, the most recent year that data is available.&nbsp;By comparison, Rio&#39;s infamous murder levels resulted in 3,117 deaths last year.<br />
<br />
From 2010 to 2014, metropolitan Rio had an annual average PM 10 reading of 52 per cubic meter of air, according to Inea statistics. The WHO&#39;s limit for the annual average is 20.<br />
<br />
Jamie Mullins, a professor of resource economics at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, estimates that for every 10 units above the WHO limit on PM 10 levels, track athletes across all events see their performances diminished by 0.2 per cent.&nbsp;Mullins based that calculation on an examination of nearly 656,000 results from U.S. track athletes over eight years, and the air pollution during each.<br />
<br />
<strong>&#39;Sad Reality&#39;</strong><br />
<br />
During the Beijing Olympics, the PM 10 level was 82, well above Rio&#39;s. When London held its Games in 2012, the PM 10 level was 23, government data showed.<br />
<br />
The PM level was 44 during the 2004 Olympics in Athens, 24 in Sydney in 2000 and 28 in Atlanta in 1996, said Staci Simonich, a professor at Oregon State University who published a 2009 study on pollution at the Beijing Games.<br />
<br />
&quot;Rio&#39;s numbers are all too common for the developing world. That is the sad reality,&quot; said Simonich.<br />
<br />
Air quality varies depending on weather, as&nbsp;rains temporarily clean PM from the air. But Rio is in its dry season and pollution is at its peak.<br />
<br />
Inea denied Reuters&#39; requests to see monthly data on PM levels for 2015 and this year.&nbsp;Some experts even question the reliability of Inea&#39;s data,&nbsp;noting that three-quarters of its 64 automatic monitoring stations are run by private companies that pollute, as a condition for them winning environmental licenses.<br />
<br />
&quot;The local agency should be fully and independently managing the stations,&quot; said James Lents, an air pollution expert who designed southern California&#39;s anti-smog effort.&nbsp;Inea did not respond to requests for comment on the private stations.<br />
<br />
Saldiva and his top researcher Mariana Veras teamed with Reuters to analyse Inea&#39;s data and carry out independent testing on PM 2.5,&nbsp;fine particles that pose the most serious health risks.&nbsp;Inea&#39;s data shows that since 2011, Rio&#39;s PM 2.5 levels surpassed WHO&#39;s annual limits 83 per cent of the time.<br />
<br />
Reuters conducted 22 separate hour-long tests for PM 2.5 levels: in front of the Olympic Park and the Olympic Village, next to the beach volleyball arena on Copacabana beach and just outside the Olympic stadium where track athletes will compete.<br />
<br />
There are no standards for one-hour tests for PM 2.5 &ndash; instead the WHO sets a 24-hour average level of 25 and an annual average of 10. But Saldiva and other experts said the results show athletes, fans and Rio residents are exposed to high levels of PM 2.5.<br />
<br />
The highest readings were at the Olympic stadium &ndash; with a peak of 65 PM 2.5 during a June 30 test taken mid-morning, the same time of day athletes will compete.&nbsp;The Copacabana site had a 57 reading the same day, while the Olympic Village where athletes will sleep hit a maximum of 32.<br />
<br />
Rio&#39;s mayor, Eduardo Paes, has been praised by experts for creating Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes and extending a subway line, but Rio&#39;s fleet of vehicles still grows by 100,000 a year.<br />
<br />
The mayor&#39;s office told Reuters improvements in public transport would significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.&nbsp;It said the BRTs had already resulted in 750 smaller-capacity buses being removed from roads.&nbsp;But Saldiva said mass transport must be vastly expanded to significantly impact pollution levels, given the number of cars and trucks on Rio&#39;s roads.<br />
<br />
&quot;The idea of an Olympic legacy in terms of diminishing air pollution is Utopian. It is unimaginable that a few BRT routes will substantially change the quality of the air,&quot; he said. &quot;For the Brazilians remaining in Rio after the Olympics have come and gone, there is no clean air legacy.&quot;<br />
<br />
(Reuters)</p>


Rio surpasses WHO limits for particulate matter, the most dangerous air pollutant. Of recent Olympic hosts only Beijing had dirtier air

Rio de Janeiro's air is dirtier and deadlier than portrayed by authorities, and the Olympics' promised legacy of cleaner winds has not remotely been met, an analysis of government data and Reuters' own testing found. Brazil declared in its official bid for the Olympic Games, which open on Friday, that Rio's air quality was "within the limits recommended by the World Health Organization". That was not true when Rio won the right to host the Games in 2009 and it is not true now. Rio for years has surpassed WHO limits for the most dangerous air pollutant, called particulate matter (PM), spewed from millions of vehicles clogging the city's roads. Thousands die annually in Rio's metropolitan area of 12 million people because of complications related to the air. People exposed to the pollution have higher risks of lung cancer, heart attacks, strokes, asthma and other diseases. "This is definitely not 'Olympic air'," said Paulo Saldiva, a University of Sao Paulo pathologist and member of the WHO committee that set tougher global pollution standards in 2006. "A lot of attention has been paid to Rio's water pollution, but far more people die because of air pollution than the water," he said. "You are not obligated to drink water from Guanabara Bay, but you must breathe Rio's air." Rio's contaminated Olympic waterways have drawn attention as the city suffers endemic levels of gastrointestinal diseases from a lack of sewage collection. Reuters recently reported that Rio's Olympic water venues and favourite beaches also tested positive for drug-resistant "super bacteria". But there has been no talk of Rio's air pollution, three-quarters of which is caused by exhaust fumes from the 2.7 million vehicles on its roads, according to Rio state's environmental protection agency, Inea. Its data shows that since 2008, Rio's air has consistently been two to three times above WHO's annual limit for PM 10 - so called because the particulate matter has a diameter of 10 microns or less, seven times smaller than that of a human hair. That means Rio has the dirtiest air of any Olympic host city since scientists began consistently tracking PM 10 in the late 1980s, with the exception of Beijing in 2008. Tania Braga, head of sustainability and legacy for the Rio Olympics organising committee, said air quality cannot be judged on PM data alone and other pollutants are at low levels. Saldiva dismissed that, saying "the health damages associated with PM pollution are the most severe of all pollutants" and, because of that, Rio's air is of poor quality. The WHO says on its website that "PM affects more people than any other pollutant," that outdoor pollution caused 3.7 million premature deaths worldwide in 2012 and that those deaths were due to exposure to PM 10. The UN body did not respond to requests for comment on Rio's air quality. Using the WHO's methodology on estimating mortality, Saldiva calculates some 5,400 people died in Rio because of air pollution in 2014, the most recent year that data is available. By comparison, Rio's infamous murder levels resulted in 3,117 deaths last year. From 2010 to 2014, metropolitan Rio had an annual average PM 10 reading of 52 per cubic meter of air, according to Inea statistics. The WHO's limit for the annual average is 20. Jamie Mullins, a professor of resource economics at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, estimates that for every 10 units above the WHO limit on PM 10 levels, track athletes across all events see their performances diminished by 0.2 per cent. Mullins based that calculation on an examination of nearly 656,000 results from U.S. track athletes over eight years, and the air pollution during each. 'Sad Reality' During the Beijing Olympics, the PM 10 level was 82, well above Rio's. When London held its Games in 2012, the PM 10 level was 23, government data showed. The PM level was 44 during the 2004 Olympics in Athens, 24 in Sydney in 2000 and 28 in Atlanta in 1996, said Staci Simonich, a professor at Oregon State University who published a 2009 study on pollution at the Beijing Games. "Rio's numbers are all too common for the developing world. That is the sad reality," said Simonich. Air quality varies depending on weather, as rains temporarily clean PM from the air. But Rio is in its dry season and pollution is at its peak. Inea denied Reuters' requests to see monthly data on PM levels for 2015 and this year. Some experts even question the reliability of Inea's data, noting that three-quarters of its 64 automatic monitoring stations are run by private companies that pollute, as a condition for them winning environmental licenses. "The local agency should be fully and independently managing the stations," said James Lents, an air pollution expert who designed southern California's anti-smog effort. Inea did not respond to requests for comment on the private stations. Saldiva and his top researcher Mariana Veras teamed with Reuters to analyse Inea's data and carry out independent testing on PM 2.5, fine particles that pose the most serious health risks. Inea's data shows that since 2011, Rio's PM 2.5 levels surpassed WHO's annual limits 83 per cent of the time. Reuters conducted 22 separate hour-long tests for PM 2.5 levels: in front of the Olympic Park and the Olympic Village, next to the beach volleyball arena on Copacabana beach and just outside the Olympic stadium where track athletes will compete. There are no standards for one-hour tests for PM 2.5 – instead the WHO sets a 24-hour average level of 25 and an annual average of 10. But Saldiva and other experts said the results show athletes, fans and Rio residents are exposed to high levels of PM 2.5. The highest readings were at the Olympic stadium – with a peak of 65 PM 2.5 during a June 30 test taken mid-morning, the same time of day athletes will compete. The Copacabana site had a 57 reading the same day, while the Olympic Village where athletes will sleep hit a maximum of 32. Rio's mayor, Eduardo Paes, has been praised by experts for creating Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes and extending a subway line, but Rio's fleet of vehicles still grows by 100,000 a year. The mayor's office told Reuters improvements in public transport would significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It said the BRTs had already resulted in 750 smaller-capacity buses being removed from roads. But Saldiva said mass transport must be vastly expanded to significantly impact pollution levels, given the number of cars and trucks on Rio's roads. "The idea of an Olympic legacy in terms of diminishing air pollution is Utopian. It is unimaginable that a few BRT routes will substantially change the quality of the air," he said. "For the Brazilians remaining in Rio after the Olympics have come and gone, there is no clean air legacy." (Reuters)

Rio's air dirty, deadly and not Olympic-like

Australian athletes briefly had to evacuate their apartments yesterday after a small fire in the troubled Rio Olympics Village.<br />
<br />
The Australian delegation, preparing to compete in the Games that start August 5 in Rio de Janeiro, went into the street until given the all clear. No one was hurt and there was no serious damage.<br />
<br />
&quot;There has been a small fire in the basement of the team building in the Olympic Village. All athletes and staff were evacuated and are fine,&quot; the team said in a Tweet.<br />
<br />
Team spokesman Mike Tancred told AFP &quot;there was a lot of smoke and we had to evacuate. The fire fighters came, it was controlled and we returned.&quot;<br />
<br />
&quot;There was no big drama,&quot; he said.<br />
<br />
Tancred did not know the cause of the fire. The Australian team initially refused to move into its Village accommodations last weekend, citing shoddy conditions, including blocked toilets and dangerous wiring.<br />
<br />
Workers have been fixing the defects all week and the Australian team chief, Kitty Chiller, has said the site is now in good shape.<br />
<br />
(AFP)

There was no serious damage and no one was hurt in the incident. The cause of fire was unknown

Australian athletes briefly had to evacuate their apartments yesterday after a small fire in the troubled Rio Olympics Village. The Australian delegation, preparing to compete in the Games that start August 5 in Rio de Janeiro, went into the street until given the all clear. No one was hurt and there was no serious damage. "There has been a small fire in the basement of the team building in the Olympic Village. All athletes and staff were evacuated and are fine," the team said in a Tweet. Team spokesman Mike Tancred told AFP "there was a lot of smoke and we had to evacuate. The fire fighters came, it was controlled and we returned." "There was no big drama," he said. Tancred did not know the cause of the fire. The Australian team initially refused to move into its Village accommodations last weekend, citing shoddy conditions, including blocked toilets and dangerous wiring. Workers have been fixing the defects all week and the Australian team chief, Kitty Chiller, has said the site is now in good shape. (AFP)

Small Olympic Village fire forces Australia evacuation

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rejected an appeal to reinstate the 2015 Asian Shooting Championship&#39;s Olympic qualifying status.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
The event was stripped of its Olympic status by the International Olympic Committee after hosts Kuwait banned an Israeli official from attending. The IOC acted on a request from the International Sports Shooting Federation (ISSF), who confirmed the CAS ruling in a statement today.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
The appeal and demand for costs were lodged by the Kuwait Shooting Federation (KSF), the Asian Shooting Confederation (ASC), and three athletes. &quot;On 27 July 2016 the CAS rejected the appeals and all other claims filed by ASC, KSF and the athletes against the ISSF and the IOC,&quot; an ISSF statement announced.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
Olympic qualifying results obtained in an alternative championship in India remained valid, the statement added. The 2016 Olympic Games start in Rio on August 5. Kuwait had denied a visa to Israeli Yair Davidovich who was due to supervise the event. &quot;The denial of a visa is against the non-discrimination principle of the Olympic Charter,&quot; the IOC explained in a statement at the time.<br />
<br />
(AFP)

The event was stripped of its Olympic status after hosts Kuwait banned an Israeli official from attending

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rejected an appeal to reinstate the 2015 Asian Shooting Championship's Olympic qualifying status. The event was stripped of its Olympic status by the International Olympic Committee after hosts Kuwait banned an Israeli official from attending. The IOC acted on a request from the International Sports Shooting Federation (ISSF), who confirmed the CAS ruling in a statement today. The appeal and demand for costs were lodged by the Kuwait Shooting Federation (KSF), the Asian Shooting Confederation (ASC), and three athletes. "On 27 July 2016 the CAS rejected the appeals and all other claims filed by ASC, KSF and the athletes against the ISSF and the IOC," an ISSF statement announced. Olympic qualifying results obtained in an alternative championship in India remained valid, the statement added. The 2016 Olympic Games start in Rio on August 5. Kuwait had denied a visa to Israeli Yair Davidovich who was due to supervise the event. "The denial of a visa is against the non-discrimination principle of the Olympic Charter," the IOC explained in a statement at the time. (AFP)

Court of Arbitration for Sport rejects Kuwait's appeal over 2015 Championship

The &#39;B&#39; samples of two Russian women&#39;s weightlifting medalists from the 2008 Beijing Olympics have come back positive for steroids, Russian state news agency Tass reported yesterday.
<p>Marina Shainova who won silver in the 58-kilogram class and Nadezhda Evstyukhina, bronze medalist in the 75-kg division, were among 10 Russian medalists from Beijing who reportedly tested positive last month in International Olympic Committee (IOC) reanalysis of their stored samples.</p>

<p>Shainova&#39;s coach, Vladimir Shainov, told Tass that the two lifters have now also tested positive for turinabol in their &quot;B&quot; samples.</p>

<p>&quot;The document about a further decision has not come yet, but now of course, they will take away the medal and disqualify. Evstyukhina is in the same situation,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>Once a &quot;B&quot; sample confirms the original positive finding, the IOC can open a formal doping case. The two could be stripped of their medals. Other Russian medalists from the Beijing Games who were reported to have failed retests last month included bronze medalist Anna Chicherova, who won the high jump gold at the London 2012 Games and Yulia Chermoshanskaya who won gold in the 4x100-meter relay.</p>
The IOC stores Olympic doping samples for 10 years, so that it can reanalyze them when new testing methods become available.

Document about a further decision is yet to come, but medals will be taken away from Marina Shainova and Nadezhda Evstyukhina

The 'B' samples of two Russian women's weightlifting medalists from the 2008 Beijing Olympics have come back positive for steroids, Russian state news agency Tass reported yesterday. Marina Shainova who won silver in the 58-kilogram class and Nadezhda Evstyukhina, bronze medalist in the 75-kg division, were among 10 Russian medalists from Beijing who reportedly tested positive last month in International Olympic Committee (IOC) reanalysis of their stored samples. Shainova's coach, Vladimir Shainov, told Tass that the two lifters have now also tested positive for turinabol in their "B" samples. "The document about a further decision has not come yet, but now of course, they will take away the medal and disqualify. Evstyukhina is in the same situation," he said. Once a "B" sample confirms the original positive finding, the IOC can open a formal doping case. The two could be stripped of their medals. Other Russian medalists from the Beijing Games who were reported to have failed retests last month included bronze medalist Anna Chicherova, who won the high jump gold at the London 2012 Games and Yulia Chermoshanskaya who won gold in the 4x100-meter relay. The IOC stores Olympic doping samples for 10 years, so that it can reanalyze them when new testing methods become available.

Two Russian Olympic weightlifting medalists fail doping tests

Olympic skating champion Claudia Pechstein&#39;s claim damages against the International Skating Union (ISU) over a doping ban was ruled as inadmissible by a German court today. This dealt her years-long effort for compensation a crushing blow.<br />
<br />
The Federal Court of Justice decided the domestic courts should not hear her case after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), considered the highest sports tribunal, had rejected Pechstein&#39;s appeal over her ban.<br />
<br />
The five-time Olympic champion was seeking more than 4 million euros in damages from the ISU after it banned her for two years in 2009 over irregular blood results, although the German never failed a drugs test.<br />
<br />
She insisted, providing extensive scientific data, that she had a hereditary blood condition that her father also had.<br />
<br />
Her case had been seen as a litmus test, with a win potentially triggering a flood of doping cases being challenged in domestic courts around the world and eroding the position of CAS. She vowed to fight on at the Constitutional Court.<br />
<br />
The Federal Court, Germany&#39;s highest for civil and criminal jurisdiction, said an arbitration agreement between her and the ISU at the time she had tested positive, which ruled out taking the case to a domestic court, was valid.<br />
<br />
&quot;The anti-trust division of the Federal Court of Justice did not follow the argumentation of the plaintiff,&quot; it said in a statement. &quot;It decides that her suit is inadmissible as it is opposed by the defence of the arbitration agreement.&quot;<br />
<br />
The CAS rejected her appeal as did the Swiss Federal Tribunal. However, a Munich court said in 2015 that it would allow the 44-year-old skater to go ahead with a lawsuit.<br />
<br />
The skater said she would now take the case to the next stage, the Federal Constitutional Court.<br />
<br />
&quot;Despite this verdict I am not considering giving up,&quot; she wrote on her website. &quot;The battle for justice will be continued at the Federal Constitutional Court.&quot;<br />
<br />
Pechstein, who missed the 2010 Vancouver Games due to the ban, competed at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, narrowly missing out on medals in the 3,000m and 5,000m.<br />
<br />
The athlete has said she wants to compete at the 2018 winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in what would be her seventh Games.

After the International Skating Union had banned her for two years in 2009, the speed skater sought for more than 4 million euros in damages. However, she never failed a drug test

Olympic skating champion Claudia Pechstein's claim damages against the International Skating Union (ISU) over a doping ban was ruled as inadmissible by a German court today. This dealt her years-long effort for compensation a crushing blow. The Federal Court of Justice decided the domestic courts should not hear her case after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), considered the highest sports tribunal, had rejected Pechstein's appeal over her ban. The five-time Olympic champion was seeking more than 4 million euros in damages from the ISU after it banned her for two years in 2009 over irregular blood results, although the German never failed a drugs test. She insisted, providing extensive scientific data, that she had a hereditary blood condition that her father also had. Her case had been seen as a litmus test, with a win potentially triggering a flood of doping cases being challenged in domestic courts around the world and eroding the position of CAS. She vowed to fight on at the Constitutional Court. The Federal Court, Germany's highest for civil and criminal jurisdiction, said an arbitration agreement between her and the ISU at the time she had tested positive, which ruled out taking the case to a domestic court, was valid. "The anti-trust division of the Federal Court of Justice did not follow the argumentation of the plaintiff," it said in a statement. "It decides that her suit is inadmissible as it is opposed by the defence of the arbitration agreement." The CAS rejected her appeal as did the Swiss Federal Tribunal. However, a Munich court said in 2015 that it would allow the 44-year-old skater to go ahead with a lawsuit. The skater said she would now take the case to the next stage, the Federal Constitutional Court. "Despite this verdict I am not considering giving up," she wrote on her website. "The battle for justice will be continued at the Federal Constitutional Court." Pechstein, who missed the 2010 Vancouver Games due to the ban, competed at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, narrowly missing out on medals in the 3,000m and 5,000m. The athlete has said she wants to compete at the 2018 winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in what would be her seventh Games.

German court drops Claudia Pechstein's doping ban damages suit

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