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IAAF announce five-man inspection team to Russia

Xinhua, November 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Tuesday announced the composition of an inspection team, which will verify the reforms programme in Russia to enable the All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) to gain reacceptance for IAAF membership.

"After consultation with WADA, we will set the verification criteria. The five-person inspection team, led by a renowned anti-doping expert Rune Andersen, has an extraordinary amount of experience to ensure ARAF meets the criteria and is eligible to once again enter athletes into international competition," said IAAF President Sebastian Coe.

The IAAF Inspection Team has an independent Chair, Rune Andersen, a Norwegian international anti-doping expert. Prior to joining WADA in 2002, Andersen served as head of the Department for Ethics, Sports Medicine, and Anti-Doping at the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF) and was Member of the Monitoring Group for the Council of Europe's Anti-Doping Convention," read a statement by IAAF on Tuesday.

Joining Andersen on the team are four IAAF Council Members, namely Canadian Abby Hoffman, Italian Anna Riccardi, Namibia's Frank Fredericks and Geoff Gardner of Oceania's Norfolk Island.

According to IAAF, Hoffman is a Senior Executive in the Ministry of Health of the Government of Canada and has been the co-ordinator of the IAAF Anti-doping Task Force since 2004, Riccardi is a Technical Delegate for the Rio Olympic Games and is Italian NOC CONI's Head of Team Services Sport and Olympic Programme Area, Fredericks is an IOC Member, Chairman of the IAAF Athletes' Commission and a former Chairman of the IOC Athletes' Commission, and Gardner is President of the Oceania Athletics Association and formerly Chief Minister, Speaker and Member of the Legislative Assembly of Norfolk Island.

"I'm honored to have been asked by Sebastian Coe to head the verification process. I have devoted my life to clean sport and it's on behalf of the innocent athletes who are Russia's athletics future that we begin our task to ensure that fair and honest competition is guaranteed," commented Andersen.

The athletics' world governing body voted almost unanimously to suspend Russia from all international competitions last Friday after last week's revelations by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

According to the punishment, all Russian athletes and support staff will be forbidden to participate in any international events including World Athletics Series competitions and the Olympic Games under the suspension. Endit