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Russia's doping ban extended by IAAF

Xinhua, February 7, 2017 Adjust font size:

The doping ban on the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) was extended at least to November 2017, after an IAAF taskforce recommendation was approved by the world athletics governing body's council on Monday.

The taskforce, chaired by Rune Anderson, was set up to oversee Russia's reintegration into international athletics.

According to its report to the IAAF council, the taskforce does not think "the council should consider reinstatement of RusAF's membership," because "there have been some negative developments since the council's meeting in December."

Meanwhile, the report also presented a roadmap to reinstatement, saying that only when certain demands are met can RusAF return to IAAF membership.

The RusAF was asked to fully cooperate with French criminal authorities and to ensure "the testing of Russian athletes is taking place without any further adverse incidents or difficulties."

"If everything goes in accordance with the plan, there will be a full reinstatement by November 2017," Anderson said.

However, Russian track and field athletes will still have the chance to compete in international competitions, as Anderson noted that many Russian athletes had applied to compete as neutral ones.

The taskforce recommends that RusAF "be required to supply an official comment in respect to each application, providing any relevant information it holds, and specifically advising whether it agrees that the athlete applicant meets all of the criteria to be granted neutral athlete status."

RusAF was banned from the IAAF in November 2015 after an independent World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) probe exposed state-sponsored doping on a massive scale.

The suspension was upheld last year, ruling almost all Russian track and field athletes out of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

A second report by Canadian professor Richard McLaren last year said Moscow had "hijacked international sport" over a five-year period and that more than 1,000 Russian competitors in 30 sports were involved in an "institutional conspiracy" to cover up positive tests. Endit