Sun, Jul 29, 2018 page10

• IAAF maintains athletics ban on Russia over doping

  • AFP, BUENOS AIRES
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  The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on Friday maintained Russia’s ban from track and field over mass doping, just 10 days before the start of the European Championships in Berlin.

  “The IAAF council unanimously adopted the resolution that RUSAF [Russian Athletics Federation] not be reinstated at this time,” IAAF Russian task force Rune Andersen said.

  However, there has been “a lot of meaningful engagement from RUSAF,” which has made “significant improvement” in meeting reinstatement requirements, Andersen said.

  “In some cases they have gone above and beyond what is required,” the Norwegian said, but adding that the conclusion remained that RUSAF would not be reinstated, as further progress still needs to be made.

  For Russia to be reinstated, ideally at the IAAF council’s next meeting in Monaco in December after a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) meeting in September, three demands must be met, Andersen said.

  First, RUSAF must pay for the costs incurred by the IAAF in the wake of the doping scandal, notably the establishment of the task force, Andersen said.

  The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) must also be reinstated by WADA, with a key requirement being an acknowledgement by Moscow that Russian Ministry of Sport officials orchestrated the doping of Russian athletes, he said.

  Finally, Russian authorities must give access to doping tests carried out at RUSADA’s Moscow laboratory from 2011 to 2015, he added.

  “Progress has been made in key areas. There are still some gaps to be filled,” IAAF president Sebastian Coe said. “We have brought about change and it’s change that is very viable, but we weren’t yet at that point where every element of that [reinstatement] criteria had been met.”

  RUSAF president Dmitry Shlyakhtin said he had been hoping for better news.

  “We are disappointed by the decision taken today by the IAAF council,” Russian news agency TASS quoted Shlyakhtin as saying.

  “I cannot hide that we were counting on a positive decision, on a partial restoration of the Russian athletics federation. Sadly, this hasn’t happened,” he was quoted as saying. “We will continue, however, to work towards the restoration of the federation.”

  Russia was accused in a 2016 WADA report of widespread state-sponsored doping.

  Its athletics team was barred from that summer’s Rio Olympics and also missed the IAAF World Championships in London last year.

  However, a number of Russian athletes have been granted permission by the IAAF to compete as neutrals after meeting exceptional eligibility criteria, essentially demonstrating that they have passed transparent anti-doping testing.

  Russia had also been banned from the Olympic movement over the doping scandal culminating at the 2014 Russian-hosted Sochi Winter Games.

  A team of 168 Russians competed in February’s Pyeongchang Winter Games under the neutral banner of “Olympic Athletes from Russia,” although a Russian curling medalist tested positive for a banned substance.

  The International Olympic Committee then lifted its ban on Russia at the end of the Pyeongchang Olympics.
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