Buenos Aire: Russia’s ban from international athletics over widespread doping has been maintained by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the president of the sport’s governing body, Sebastian Coe, said Friday.
Russia has been suspended from international athletics since November 2015 after the McLaren report discovered widespread doping. The Russians had hoped to be reinstated but IAAF officials meeting in Argentina, Friday unanimously upheld the ban and said that although Russia had taken positive steps in the right direction it had not done enough to merit inclusion.
“We have brought about change and its change that is very viable,” said Coe. “But we aren’t yet at that point where every element of that criterion had been met.”
Russia’s political and sporting leaders have repeatedly denied state involvement in doping, a key sticking point in lifting the ban, although Russian athletes cleared by the IAAF were allowed to compete as neutrals at last year’s World Championships.
Such athletes will again be allowed to compete as neutrals in the European Championships, which are scheduled to start in Berlin, August 7.
2 allowed as neutrals
Moscow: Two Russian athletes — 1,500m runner Yegor Nikolayev and 400m runner Alexander Skorobogatko have been allowed Saturday to compete internationally as neutrals, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said in a statement. “The IAAF Doping Review Board has agreed that the applications of two Russian athletes have met the exceptional eligibility criteria to compete in international competition as neutral athletes in 2018… while the Russian national federation (RusAF) remains suspended,” the statement further added. However, neither Nikolayev nor Skorobogatko have qualified for the European Athletics Championships scheduled to be held in Berlin August 6-12.