Uzbekistan attempt to slyly qualify Olympic swimmers blocked
- Jul. 12, 2021 12:19 PM EDT
FILE - In this April 26, 2021, file photo, Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Organizing staff prepare a Paralympic swimming test event at the Tokyo Aquatics Center, in Tokyo. The Tokyo Olympics are not looking like much fun: Not for athletes. Not for fans. And not for the Japanese public, who are caught between concerns about the coronavirus at a time when few are vaccinated on one side and politicians and the International Olympic Committee who are pressing ahead on the other. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — An attempt at cheating to qualify Uzbekistan swimmers for the Tokyo Olympics has been blocked by sport’s highest court. World swim body FINA denounced Uzbekistan's “nefarious behavior.”

FINA said on Monday the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected an appeal by the Uzbek swimming federation against its refusal to authorize manipulated results from two race meets. They included home racers achieving Olympic qualifying times.

The alleged cheating was alerted by a swimmer from India who took part in the second meet in Uzbekistan in April.

Likith Prema made the allegations, including that he was offered bribes by Uzbek officials, in a film he posted online including race footage and results sheets.

“FINA would also like to thank the whistleblowers for their courage in reporting this nefarious behavior,” the Switzerland-based governing body said.

FINA promised to “now investigate whether further sanctions should be imposed on the Uzbekistan Swimming Federation and any other implicated party.”

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