Klishina was left contemplating a summer without competing at the Rio Olympics last year when evidence emerge of state-sponsored doping in Russia.
The IAAF suspended all Russian athletes but because Klishina had been living outside Russia in the United States, she managed to successfully prove she was a clean athlete and gain entry to the Games at the last minute.
She competes at the World Atheltics Championships as an Authorised Neutral Athlete with the Russian flag still not permitted at the IAAF event.
But she admitted the culture of doping existed in her home country even before she turned professional.
“I did think about it once when I was 15,” Klishina said.
“My personal best was 6.30m and I was looking at the older girls who were jumping seven meters.
“I thought it was impossible without drugs.
“I kept practicing and practicing.
“I didn’t make huge improvements, but managed a Russia youth record of 6.52m.
“I was so happy. And then I leapt to 7.03m – the first time in my life over seven metres.
“I thought: life is perfect. You can train and compete without taking illegal substances.”
But the 26-year-old admitted it was far from plain sailing getting to Rio and then London for the worlds this month.
“I’m in a good place now – but it was a very different situation this time last year,” Klishina added.
“My Olympic dream almost turned into a nightmare.
“I received abuse, I was branded a ‘traitor’ by my own people because they believed the news.
“I tried not to read the comments under my Instagram photos, but it was impossible. Then, I had friends sending me texts to tell me what they’d written about me.
“I spent one-and-half hours in the mixed zone after my qualification because I couldn’t walk through without the media saying, ‘Darya, Darya please stop’.
“I felt like I was being pulled left, right and centre. Everybody wanted to ask me about the situation with the Russia doping ban.
“I felt alone at the Games, anyway, and this made matters worse. I couldn’t concentrate fully on the competition and that’s why I maybe didn’t do as well as I hoped [Klishina came ninth in the final].”
