The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) disclosed on its website that the organization, in collaboration with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and Dmitry Ilinykh (former Russian volleyball player, and until recently sport director of the Russian club Belogorie), have inked a case resolution agreement. The agreement follows Ilinykh’s admission to an anti-doping rule violation involving the banned substance, Methylhexaneamine, in a sample collected during an in-competition test.
The sample in question was collected at the Russian National Championships held in Belgorod, Russia, on May 11, 2013. This case represents part of a broader investigation undertaken by FIVB following receipt of data and doping test samples from WADA, which were originally collected from the Moscow Laboratory.
As per the terms of the case resolution agreement, Ilinykh confessed to having violated Article 2.2 of the FIVB Medical and Anti-Doping Regulations 2013. This violation directly relates to the presence of a prohibited substance in an athlete’s sample. Following his admission, Ilinykh will face a period of ineligibility of 15 months, which began on August 26, 2022, and will conclude on November 25, 2023.
This agreement, recognized as a legally binding document, was affirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in a consent award. The consent award denotes mutual agreement between all parties involved, thereby resolving the matter without further need for litigation.
The resolution of this case underlines the commitment of the FIVB, WADA, and other sporting organizations to maintain a clean, fair, and drug-free environment for athletes around the world.
During his career Ilinykh successfully defended the colors of “Zbornaya“ knowing that he has won the 2012 London Olympics, the CEV European Championship once (2013), FIVB World League twice (2011, 2013), and FIVB World Cup once (2011). In youth categories, Ilinykh was named MVP of the 2006 CEV U21 European Championship. On a club level, he won the FIVB Club World Championship once (2014), CEV Champions League once (2014), Russian Championship twice (2005, 2013), Russian Cup three times (2005, 2013, 2014), and Russian Super Cup twice (2014, 2015) – all with Belogorie Belgorod.
Since Ilinykh is deprived of all sport results achieved from May 11, 2013 to May 10, 2015 – gold medals from the 2013 European Championship, 2013 FIVB World League, 2014 FIVB World Club Championship, CEV Champions League, Kazan Universiade, Russian Cup 2013, Russian Championship 2013 and Supercup 2013, 2014 are not treated as his achievements any more. Ilinykh concluded his athletic career in October 2021, and the imposition of the suspension occurred during his tenure as the sport director of Belogorie. The parameters of the suspension prevented him from carrying out any sports-related duties, which led to his dismissal from his role as the sport director at the Russian sports giant, Belgorod.
