IAAF votes to maintain Russian ban ahead of Rio
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WORLD athletics’ governing body decided yesterday to maintain its doping ban on all Russian athletes, Russia’s athletics federation said, leaving the country’s hopes of competing in the Rio Olympics dependent on Olympic chiefs giving a special dispensation at a meeting next week.
The Council of the International Association of Athletics Federations was meeting in Vienna, Austria, to decide whether to lift the ban after hearing from a task force that significant doping problems still existed in Russia. The suspension was first imposed in November and extended in March.
The TASS news agency quoted a spokesperson for Russia’s athletics federation as saying the IAAF Council had decided not to lift Russia’s suspension. A news conference was scheduled for later.
Russia’s Sports Ministry said it was extremely disappointed by the IAAF’s decision, adding the Rio Olympics would be diminished by its athletes’ absence.
“Clean athletes’ dreams are being destroyed because of the reprehensible behavior of other athletes and officials,” the ministry said in a statement.
“We have done everything possible since the ban was first imposed to regain the trust of the international community ... We have nothing to hide and feel we had met the IAAF’s conditions for re-entry.”
The initial ban, in November, came after a report by an independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency revealed widespread state-sponsored doping.
A task force led by Norwegian Rune Andersen was set up to monitor progress in reforming Russia’s anti-doping program, and in March reported that there was “significant work to do”.
On Wednesday, WADA released another damning report on the doping situation in Russia, one of the world’s sporting super powers, which was second behind the United States in the athletics medal table at the 2012 Olympics.
That report revealed 52 new failed tests and stories of extraordinary attempts to avoid, obstruct or intimidate drug testers, suggesting that attempts to change the culture of doping in Russia had failed.
The IAAF Council had been due to hear from Andersen again yesterday, and from Russian representatives.
The federation had scheduled the vote for June so that, if the ban was lifted, Russian athletes would have a reasonable chance to register Olympic qualifying standards before the July 11 cut-off.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach was asked this month if the IOC, holding its own Olympic Summit on June 21, would be prepared to overrule an IAAF ban and allow Russian athletes to go to Rio. He replied: “I cannot speculate.”
“This meeting on the 21st will be to protect the clean athletes and ensure a level playing field for all the athletes participating in Rio,” he said.
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