Russian athlete Darya Klishina hopes she will not be alone at Rio 2016

Image: Darya Klishina warming up at an IAAF Diamond League meeting in Oregon

Darya Klishina, the only Russian athlete cleared to compete at this summer's Olympic Games in Rio, insists she is not a traitor.

On Sunday, the 25-year-old long jumper was given the go-ahead by the IAAF to compete in Brazil as a neutral athlete.

This follows a successful appeal against a blanket ban on her country's track and field athletes for systematic doping in recent years.

Klishina, whose best performance at a senior global event was fourth at the World Indoor Championships in 2012, has since become the target of criticism by unhappy Russians.

Image: Klishina's decision to compete under a neutral flag has prompted criticism in her native Russia

A number of Russian fans have accused Klishina of being a traitor, for not showing solidarity with other athletes from their country.

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But she said: "I would like to point out that I didn't start training in the USA with an American coach a month before this situation turned out the way it did. I have been there for three years.

I am still really waiting and hoping that I will not be going to Rio alone.
Darya Klishina

"Therefore, I think it is wrong to criticise me and call me a Russian traitor.

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"I am still really waiting and hoping that I will not be going to Rio alone. I want to believe that the Court of Arbitration for Sport, following its decision on July 19, will give us a positive decision.

"Now we all need support. Let's unite and we will believe right to the end that we will compete in Rio as a team."

The IAAF banned Russia's track and field athletes last year, after a World Anti-Doping Agency report uncovered systematic state-sponsored doping within the country.

The ban was extended last month, which ultimately ruled the country's athletes out of next month's Olympics, subject to an appeal by the All-Russia Athletic Federation to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
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