IAAF maintains Russia's ban from athletics into 2019

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The IAAF has upheld a ban on Russia's athletics federation, RUSAF, over doping in the country, pending full access to data on drug use stored in Moscow and financial compensation.

RUSAF has been suspended since 2015 over a report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that found evidence of widespread state-sponsored doping in the sport.

The IAAF, the sport's governing body, said Tuesday that RUSAF still needs to meet two criteria – access to samples of Russian athletes in a Moscow lab and full financial compensation for investigation and legal costs – before the ban is lifted.

Russia's reinstatement has been rejected on numerous occasions by the IAAF over the past three years and should it fail to meet conditions in the coming months, it could risk missing out again on sending a team to next September's world athletics championships in Doha, Qatar.

The European indoor championships are even earlier, in Glasgow in March, and take place before the next IAAF Council meeting has a chance to meet to discuss further developments later that month.

The governing body of world athletics has maintained Russia's ban from track and field over alleged mass state-backed doping. /VCG Photo

Since 2015, some individual Russian athletes have been allowed to compete internationally as neutrals provided they met certain criteria that show they operate in a dope-free environment.

“If the Russians can and will release the (drugs) samples is up to them. I hope they will deliver the data by the end of this year,” said Rune Andersen, head of the IAAF's task force on Russia, sitting next to IAAF President Sebastian Coe.

“We have received no assurances that it will be delivered to us directly. The assurances have been given to WADA and WADA has set a deadline of Dec. 31. We will have to rely on receiving the data from WADA.”

The IAAF said the athletics integrity unit must confirm it has been given the data, also it had eased its demand on Russia accepting the WADA-commissioned report by Richard McLaren.

“It is not an easy one, as we would have wanted Russia to clearly acknowledge the McLaren report,” Andersen said.

“But it is difficult not to do that when WADA has done it and we will have to move on and deal with what we think is most important, to get access to the data and the samples. That is what counts when it comes to the athletes.”

Not Surprised

IAAF President Sebastian Coe speaks during a press conference in Monaco, December 4, 2018. /VCG Photo

The costs of running the task force and dealing with legal appeals by Russia about the suspension are expected to amount to several million dollars.

“It was an expected decision,” Dmitry Shlyakhtin, president of Russia's athletics federation, told Reuters. “Two criteria haven't been met, as of today. Objectively, we did not expect concessions from the task force.”

Russia, whose athletics team was banned from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, has accepted there was extensive doping in the country, but its authorities have continued to deny any of it was state-sponsored and access to the Moscow lab data has not happened.

WADA's controversial reinstatement in September this year was on the condition that Russia recognizes the findings of its report and allow access to the stored samples of RUSADA, the Russian anti-doping agency.

Failure to provide access to the full data from the Moscow lab by Dec. 31 could lead to another suspension, WADA has warned.

Source(s): Reuters