Door still open for Russian Federation to compete in Rio athletics

On Monday, a group of anti-doping leaders said the team should not be allowed to compete because there’s no way to completely ensure the program and its athletes are clean in a nine-month window.

But former Wada head Dick Pound – who served as the head of the independent commission – said Russia’s participation in Rio would depend on its ability to promptly clean up its act.

President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday, November 11, that Russian Federation must “do everything” to eradicate doping, ordering an inquiry into allegations of major drug abuse in athletics days before the country risks being barred from next year’s Olympics. “That raises huge questions”.

After spending $51 billion and moving mountains to transform Sochi into a glittering Olympic venue for the 2014 Winter Games, Pound felt that tearing down and rebuilding the country’s corrupt anti-doping program should be a straightforward task.

Isinbayeva, 33, for whom the upcoming Rio Olympics would be her fifth and last Games, wrote on Saturday on Instagram she was “shocked” by the decision, after having implored the world athletics governing body for leniency.

But Mikhail Butov, the Russian athletics federation’s secretary general and one of the 27 council members of the IAAF who will meet on Friday, conceded that doping was an issue. After his time spent researching East Germany, Ungerleider told ATR he was not surprised by the findings in the WADA Independent Commission’s report. They’ve got to bite the bullet and go full speed ahead to really get all this done in time for Rio.

“If they start fighting over everything then fine, take your time, all the time you want but you are not going to work on your tan (in Brazil) next summer”.

In a separate case, the Japanese athletics federation said Russian Olympic bronze medallist Tatyana Arkhipova was prevented from taking part in Sunday’s Saitama marathon because of Russia’s suspension. Seppelt told the Guardian: “We haven’t heard anything about that”.

The coach, Paul Simbolei, made the larger accusations to ARD of officials demanding money or a share of an athlete’s winnings in exchange for concealing doping.

The IAAF and its independent ethics commission will not comment further on either investigation until they are concluded, the federation said.

“In the records of AK and those of the AK North Rift Region Kipsero Training Club in Iten does not exist”, it said. “The matter is being followed up with the relevant authorities”.