Russian track and field athletes will not be welcome at this year’s Olympic Games in Rio after the the IAAF Council upheld the team’s suspension.
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The International Association of Athletics Federations provisionally suspended the Russian Athletics Federation in November 2015. The decision followed investigations into corruption and manipulation of the anti-doping process. The suspension was this week upheld after an expert task force ruled that Russia had not taken the appropriate steps to meet the concerns of the IAAF.
Athletics Australia has applauded the decision.
“The IAAF Council has made the right decision to help ensure that there is a level playing field for all athletes at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games,” Athletics Australia Chief Executive Officer, Phil Jones said.
“We commend the IAAF for this strong stance against doping in sport. The Russian Athletics Federation has failed these individuals over many years and, for this reason, we condone taking steps to ensure that they are not punished for the systemic doping regime in which they did not take part.”
The decision not to reinstate the team means that Russian athletes remain ineligible to compete in international competitions including the European Championships and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
“For Russian athletes to be reinstated into international competition, RusAF must show that there is now a culture of zero tolerance towards doping in Russian athletics,” IAAF Taskforce independent chairperson Rune Andersen said.
“And that RusAF, RUSADA, and the public authorities in Russia, working in cooperation, have created an anti-doping infrastructure that is effective in detecting and deterring cheats, and therefore provides reasonable assurance and protection to clean athletes both inside and outside of Russia.”
According to Mr Andersen’s report there are detailed allegations, which are already partly substantiated, that the Russian authorities orchestrated systematic doping and a cover-up. For this reason the suspension was upheld.