Russia’s track and field doping ban won’t affect Paralympics

Friday saw the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) uphold an international ban on Russia’s track and field competitors first imposed in November after a WADA team led by veteran Canadian sports administrator Pound revealed state-sponsored doping and mass corruption in Russian athletics.

“The IOC Executive Board, in a telephone conference today, emphasized that it fully respects the IAAF position”, the statement published on Saturday says.

The IAAF’s decision was endorsed by the International Olympic Committee on Saturday.

The IOC went even further, saying it would undertake “further far-reaching measures in order to ensure a level playing field for all the athletes” competing in Rio.

The status of other sports in Russian Federation, as well as other countries and sports with poor doping records, could come under scrutiny at an Olympic summit in Lausanne on Tuesday.

Rune Andersen, the Norwegian at the head of the IAAF Taskforce charged with investigating doping in Russian athletics, added: “If there are any athletes out there who comply with this tiny chance of competing under a neutral flag, they can do it immediately”.

It also accused him of “trying to hide shortcomings and violations in his activities”, violating “Russia’s global interests” and discrediting the country’s anti-doping policy. In Russia, many athletes were reportedly forced to participate in doping if they wanted to be accepted on the national team.

The IAAF rejected a last-minute plea by Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, who claimed the country had cleaned up its anti-doping system and met all the requirements for readmission.

“If it is shown that the state corrupted the anti-doping system, the only right outcome is for Russian Federation to be removed from the Rio Olympics”, he said.

“We did not make a decision on clean athletes”, Coe wrote in an article for Britain’s Sunday Telegraph newspaper. However, Coe made clear that the IAAF runs the sport and determines which athletes are eligible, not the IOC.

In addition to Russia, Kenya is listed as non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Agency code and has been hit by numerous drug scandals in recent years.

The prolonged suspension was commended by most corners of the track and field world, a community that has grown accustomed to high-profile doping cases stretching back decades.

“Last month, the IPC wrote to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the current Independent Commission chaired by Richard McLaren to verify whether any of the current allegations regarding Russian Federation extend to Para sport and Para athletes”.

Corey tells our Newscast unit that “Russian officials and athletes have argued that clean athletes shouldn’t be punished for the actions of a few cheaters”.

Russian Para-athletics stars will be unaffected by the ban on their Olympic counterparts at Rio 2016, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) have confirmed.

Russia’s Sports Ministry said it was extremely disappointed by the IAAF’s decision, adding the Rio Olympics would be diminished by its athletes’ absence.

Reacting with fury over the decision, Russian president Vladimir Putin called it “unfair”, although it was widely supported by athletes across the sporting world. But the IAAF denied its ban is politically motivated.