Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said he expected Russian Federation to “co-operate to make progress” towards being compliant with Wada to ensure participation at Rio 2016. A WADA compliance panel has already recommended sanctioning the Russian anti-doping agency (RUSADA).
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But Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said before the IAAF issued its decision that he didn’t expect any suspension to last long. “We are hoping this will be resolved fast”.
After meeting with his Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) counterpart Alexander Zhukov, Bach said he had confidence in the measures put forth by the ROC.
“At the same time, everyone who was involved in the use of illicit drugs and contributed to it, should take full responsibility”.
Zelichenok also said ARAF’s board would hold early elections on January 16 for a new president and vice presidents.
Among those on the way out of the federation is acting president Vadim Zelichenok, a veteran athletics official whose career dates back to the Soviet Union, and who was criticized in the WADA report for obstructing investigators.
Russian Federation is one of the superpower is world athletics and finished second behind the United States in the track and field medal count at the 2012 Olympics in London.
Former IAAF president Lamine Diack is being investigated by French police over allegations he received bribes to cover up positive doping tests of Russian athletes.
The IAAF on Sunday night responded to claims from a member of WADA’s independent commission about the possibility of it being banned from the Rio Olympics.
The Russian Olympic committee has reached an agreement with the worldwide Olympic Committee to ensure that Russian athletes clear of doping can compete at next year’s Rio Games.
“We have confidence in the Brazilian authorities and in the global co-operation of their security agencies”, Bach said.
The IAAFs Objects include amongst others developing and maintaining programmes aimed at eradicating doping from the sport and safeguarding the authenticity and integrity of Athletics.
The IAAF is reeling from the aftermath of a major doping scandal that has led to Russia’s provisional suspension from all competition following a WADA report that uncovered evidence of state-controlled doping in the country. However, the ARAF General Secretary Mikhail Butov said it was not taken into consideration by the worldwide team of experts. “I am sure that Russian Federation will go to the Olympic Games”.
It also means Russian Federation “will not be entitled to host the 2016 World Race Walking Cup (Cheboksary) and 2016 World Junior Championships (Kazan)”.
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Citing the Edmund Burke quote which says “It is necessary only for good men to do nothing for evil to triumph”, Coe wrote in the Telegraph: “It is an observation that stabs between the ribs, and something that I have thought about restlessly and incessantly over the past very bad week for athletics”. Apart from Jeptoo, none were among its elite group, although two who made it to the world championships failed doping tests in Beijing.
