IAAF suspends Russian Federation for doping in athletics

The strict action was taken by IAAF after the Independent Commission (IC) on Doping in Sports on 9 November 2015 submitted its report to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

High jump coach Yevgeny Zagorulko said the IAAF had “taken a sledgehammer to crack a nut”, while fellow coach Alexander Zyplakov spoke of a “conspiracy” against Russian Federation.

In the worst case scenario the Russian athletics federation (ARAF) have four months to propose solutions before going before the council again. “If you can not qualify, you can not participate in the Games”.

The Russian Olympic Committee announced Saturday it would lead the efforts to reform athletics in the country, vowing to punish athletes, coaches and state officials involved in the scandal.

The decision to suspend Russia, Coe said, was made amid an atmosphere of “sadness and anger” and “the recognition that unless we fully grasp the enormity of our plight there were unlikely to be many tomorrows for athletics”.

The move, which comes after last week’s revelations by the World Anti-Doping Agency, was passed nearly unanimously in a vote of IAAF Council members last night.

A crucial meeting is scheduled Sunday of the Russian athletics federation leadership to discuss the fallout of Russia’s exclusion from competition.

Mr Pound told the Today programme that Russian Federation would have to start the process for re-accreditation of their doping laboratory and demonstrate a “willingness to make sure that the laboratory acts independently and that it is not subject to any pressures”.

Coe said: “After consultation with WADA, we will set the verification criteria”. Only then would Olympic entries be accepted by the IOC. Zhukov is also a senior Russian political figure and ally of President Vladimir Putin.

He said: “Could I, should I have inserted myself into the three independent investigations?” “For me, this is pure speculation at this point”. The WADA budget comes in at around $26 million a year, funded half by the International Olympic Committee and half by governments around the world.

However, when asked about the Russian proposal, IOC President Thomas Bach said: “This is total speculation, I can not see this situation occurring at this moment”, Reuters reported. “That’s why I think it was extremely important him winning in Beijing”.

“We have confidence in the Brazilian authorities and in the global cooperation of their security agencies”, Bach said.