IAAF

Monte Carlo: The Athletics’ world governing body IAAF has voted to extend Russia’s doping ban from international competitions, reports said on Friday. Russia was suspended by the International Association of Athletics Federations since November 2015 over a massive doping and corruption scandal uncovered by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Russian athletes also missed the Rio Olympics after the ban was twice extended in March and June, Xinhua news reported. Head of the IAAF Taskforce, Rune Andersen, reported that Russia’s athletics federation (RusAF) has progressed towards satisfying the reinstatement conditions as of June.

However, the 207th IAAF council meeting said that RusAF was still not ready to return to competition. According to Andersen, the RusAF’s progress would include rolling out key measures like anti-doping education modules for coaches and athletes.

Besides, securing cooperation between Russian criminal authorities and their French counterparts and the Russian parliament passing a new law criminalising the supply of prohibited substances to athletes.

The key remaining issue was how the IAAF and RUSADA (the Russian Anti-Doping Agency), once it is reinstated, would conduct anti-doping programme in Russia without outside interference, Andersen said.

Meanwhile, Russian athletes could still apply to the IAAF doping review board to compete individually if they were subject to robust testing. The next major international track and field event for Russians is the European Indoor Championships to be held from March 3-5, 2017 in Belgrade, Serbia.