Russian Federation set to miss World Indoor Athletics Championships

“I think people clearly understand no matter how uncomfortable Dick Pound’s report makes them feel that it was worth the effort and that we have to move forward because there are clear issues to be dealt with”.

The three other athletes WADA recommended be banned for life are Olympic champion 800-metre runner Maria Savinov, Olympic silver medalist Ekaterina Poistogova and 23-year-old runner Anastasia Bazdyreva.

Bach also said that Russia’s Olympic chief briefed him on “important first steps” that have been taken to reform the country’s anti-doping program following the suspension of its track and field federation.

IOC President Thomas Bach proposed an overhaul of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s operations Friday, including the creation of independent testing and professional intelligence-gathering units to avoid the type of scandals that have embroiled Russian Federation and track and field.

“Sample collection will take place as normal using accredited UEFA doping control officers from a neutral country and analysis will take place at one of the many European WADA-accredited laboratories that UEFA typically uses”, the European soccer body said.

Following WADA’s recommendation, the worldwide Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) last week provisionally suspended Russia from global competition, raising the possibility of Russian track stars being left out of next summer’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

“It’s my last Olympics and I don’t want to be up there thinking “Oh crap, she might be doping”.

The report did not specifically investigate cycling in Russia and Cookson expressed his confidence in the Russian cycling federation.

“My hope is that there is not a generation of athletes that have their dreams stolen from them too”.

Beckie Scott, the former Canadian cross-country skier who chairs WADA’s athlete committee, backed Moses call for a wider investigation into doping in Russian sport. “The world is watching and we have acted”.

Karabanov also told Russian media he suspected Stepanova had been recruited by “foreign special services” to work against Russia’s athletic interests. “It could have been an even more incredible moment had I not been up against the amount of doping that was going on in our sport at that time”.

“There are a lot of athletes watching and waiting who are counting on the forces of anti-doping to bring their full strength and resolve to this fight”.

“But there have to be consequences”. In particular, pole vaulting world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva wrote an open letter saying that it is unfair to deprive clean athletes of the right to participate in the Games because of someone else’s violations.