IAAF vote to suspend Russian Federation

Since the WADA report was released on Monday, Coe has been under vast pressure to take strong action.

A 27-member council of the IAAF voted 22-1 on the decision through a telephone conference on Friday evening.

“Today we have been dealing with the failure of ARAF and made the decision to provisionally suspend them, the toughest sanction we can apply at this time”, said IAAF president Seb Coe.

He told the BBC: “Tonight our sport finds itself in a shameful situation”. I make calls that are unanswered. “I have conceded that we need to learn a few tough lessons”.

The under-fire IAAF president, himself a former member of Parliament, will appear before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on December 2. Before the vote, Sergei Bubka, the IAAF vice president from Ukraine, argued against suspension, on the grounds that innocent athletes should not be kept from the Olympics because of the wrongdoings of others.

Russian Federation will also be stripped of hosting the world race-walking championships in Cheboksary from May 7 to May 15, and the world junior championships in Kazan from July 19-24.

Unless the Russian athletics federation voluntarily accepts a full suspension, the IAAF is entitled to proceed to a full hearing on whether the provisional suspension should become a full suspension.

A statement from the IAAF Athletes Commission read: “The IAAF Athletes’ Commission is extremely disappointed and concerned regarding the recent developments and allegations directed at our sport”.

The suspension takes effect immediately, meaning Russian athletes won’t be able to compete in any worldwide events until the IAAF is satisfied the country has cleaned up its tainted drug program and is fully compliant with the WADA code.

According to the commission’s findings, London 2012 was “sabotaged” by “widespread inaction” against athletes with suspicious doping profiles.

Earlier, the minister raised the issue of Russian Federation boycotting the Olympics, insisting: “Never”.

“That [Russian athletes competing in Rio] is entirely up to the Russian federation and the speed we can enact change”.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called for action and said his country would do everything in its power to eradicate doping.

There also was no timetable announced for when Russian Federation must comply to the criteria in order to have its track and field athletes compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The Russian government has consistently slammed the Wada commission’s report for what it says is a lack of evidence. The International Olympic Committee said it would take “all the necessary measures and sanctions with regard to the withdrawal and reallocation of medals”. The double Olympic champion has been criticised for previously calling media investigations into the allegations a “declaration of war on my sport”, and for referring to Diack as the “spiritual” leader of athletics.

– Victor Conte, Bay Area Laboratory founder who was at center of United States’ biggest doping scandal. It is for the IAAF and no other organization to make that judgment.

“It is my hope as a council member that this process also will spur a review of the IAAF governance structure, and that we will act to implement WADA’s recommendations of instituting an ombudsman and compliance officer”, USA Track & Field President Stephanie Hightower said in a statement.