Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva says suspension unfair

MOSCOW - Some of the stars of Russian track and field have come together to decry the suspension of their country’s athletics federation.

Pole vault world record-holder Yelena Isinbayeva says “why should those like me suffer for the mistakes of irresponsible athletes who allow themselves to do doping?”

The IAAF provisionally suspended Russia on Friday after it was accused by a World Anti-Doping Agency commission of operating an extensive state-backed doping program.

The suspension means all Russian athletes are banned from international competition until Russia is declared complaint with global anti-doping rules. Until then, they could miss the world indoor championships in March and the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Sergei Shubenkov, world champion in the 110-meter hurdles, says he fears suffering the same fate as his mother, heptathlete Natalya Shubenkova, who missed the 1984 Olympics because of the Soviet boycott.