Olympic champion Mariya Lasitskene is among the 22 athletes to receive ANA status ©Getty Images

Olympic high jump champion Mariya Lasitskene and two-time pole vault world champion Anzhelika Sidorova are among 22 Russian athletes to have been granted permission to compete internationally in 2022.

The Authorised Neutral Athlete (ANA) scheme was established in 2016, after the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) was suspended in November 2015 following revelations of doping cover-ups.

The ANA scheme was briefly suspended in 2020 following further corruption scandals, but was reinstated last March when a RusAF reinstatement plan was approved by the World Athletics Council.

World Athletics confirmed in December that the number of Russian athletes granted ANA status would increase from a cap of 10 to 20 at major events.

The World Athletics Doping Review Board has now approved the applications of 22 Russian athletes, who were found to have met the criteria for this year.

Lasitskene and Sidorova, who respectively won Olympic gold and silver under the ANA banner, retain the status for 2022.

Sidorova’s fellow pole vaulters Yelizaveta Bondarenko and Polina Knoroz have also received the status, along with high jumpers Ilya Ivanyuk, Mariya Kochanova and Natalya Spiridonova.

Middle-distance athletes Anna Tropina, Dina Aleksandrova and Svetlana Aplachkina have had their applications approved.

Two-time pole vault world champion Anzhelika Sidorova saw her application approved ©Getty Images
Two-time pole vault world champion Anzhelika Sidorova saw her application approved ©Getty Images

Aleksandr Buyanovskiy, Vera Chalaya, Timofey Chalyy, Kseniya Labygina, Artyom Makarenko, Polina Miller, Oleg Spiridonov and Yaroslav Tkalich are among several sprinters and hurdles athletes to receive ANA status.

Triple jumper Alexey Fyodorov, race walker Vasiliy Mizinov, hammer thrower Valeriy Pronkin and multi-event athlete Aleksandr Komarov complete the list of athletes.

World Athletics said applications for ANA status must have been submitted no later than four weeks before the entry deadline for the international competition for which eligibility is sought.

The Doping Review Board may require an applicant to undergo additional testing prior to granting them ANA status.

The RusAF may choose which 20 athletes in total can compete at selected events, including the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championship, World Athletics Indoor Championships and the World Athletics Championships.

The European Championships, World Athletics Half Marathon Championships and European Cross Country Championships are also included.