Alexander Zverev (sprinter)

Alexander Zverev (born 7 November 1989) is a Paralympian athlete from Russia competing mainly in category T13 sprint events. Zverev has competed at two Summer Paralympic Games, 2008 in Beijing and 2012 at London. At the 2012 Games he won silver in the 400m sprint.

Alexander Zverev
Zverev competing at the 2013 IPC World Championships
Personal information
NationalityRussian
Born (1989-11-07) 7 November 1989
Chelyabinsk, Russia
Sport
Country Russia
SportParalympic athletics
Disabilityvisual impairment
Disability classT13
Event(s)Sprint
Coached byVictor Slobodchikov
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Paralympic Games 0 1 0
World Championships 2 1 0
European Championships 1 1 0
Paralympic athletics
Representing  Russia
Paralympic Games
2012 London 400m - T13
IPC World Championships
2011 Christchurch400m - T13
2013 Lyon400m - T13
2013 Lyon4x100m - T11-13
IPC European Championships
2014 Swansea200m - T13
2014 Swansea400m - T13

Personal history

Zverev was born in Chelyabinsk, Russia in 1989.[1][2]

Career history

Zverev took up athletics at the age of 13.[2] Due to a visual impairment he was eligible to compete in parasports and was classified as a T13 athlete, for sportspeople with poor vision, but who do not require a running guide. Initially coached by Sergey Nazarov, he qualified for the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games in Beijing where he took part in the 400m T13 event.[2] At the Games he qualified through the heats to take part in the final, where he finished fifth.[2]

In the buildup to the 2012 Games, Zverev took part in the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships held in Christchurch. There he took the gold medal in his favoured 400m sprint, with a time of 49.41, a championship record.[2] The following year he represented Russia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. He qualified for two events, the 200m T13 and 400m T13 sprints. In the 200m sprint he qualified through his heat in first place, but missed out on a medal by 0.04 seconds, finishing in fourth place. In the 400m he qualified comfortably through the heats to reach the final. At the final, despite running a personal best of 48.83, he was beaten into the silver medal position by fellow countryman Alexey Labzin.

At the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon he entered two events and won medals in both. He was part of the Russian men's 4 x 100 metres relay team who took gold and won silver in the 400 metres, this time beaten by Namibian newcomer Johannes Nambala.[2][3] The following year he took part in his first European Championships, travelling to Swansea in Wales to compete at the 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships. Despite winning the 200m sprint, he failed to clinch gold in the 400m, losing out to team-mate Egor Sharov.[2]

In 2015, in the buildup to the Summer Paralympics in Rio, Zverev failed a drug test taken during an IPC Athletics Grand Prix held at Berlin in June. After winning the 200m sprint at Berlin, his urine sample tested positive for Cannabinoids (cannabis) and he was subsequently banned from athletics for nine months.[4][5]

Notes
  1. "Biography Overview: Zverev, Alexander". paralympic.org. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  2. "Zverev, Alexander". IPC. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  3. "2013 IPC Athletics World Championships Lyon: Official Results Book" (PDF). pp. 80–101. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  4. Morgan, Liam (17 November 2015). "Paralympic silver medallist banned for nine months for failed doping test". insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  5. "Russian Paralympic medalist suspended for nine months as tested positive for cannabis". tass.ru. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
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