Rune Andersen, head of the IAAF task force on Russia, reportedly said the IAAF has left a “very tiny crack in the door” for Russian athletes to compete at the Olympics as an independent.
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The IAAF decided overnight to uphold the competition ban, ruling the Russians had not met readmission criteria imposed when they were suspended over widespread state-sponsored doping past year.
“It was not an easy decision to make today”. A follow-up WADA report Wednesday said drug testers continued to be obstructed and deceived by Russian athletes and state officials. Her government has failed athletes.
The IAAF did adopt a pair of rule changes Friday, however, that provide some wiggle room for Russian athletes. The most likely scenario, according to Dan Roan of the BBC, is that the International Olympic Committee – with the co-operation of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) – will accelerate the appeal process for Russian athletes, while remaining true to the position that RUSAF is banned. “We have no confidence in the system, that’s the problem”, Andersen said.
“We firmly believe that clean athletes should not be punished for the actions of others”, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said in an open letter to IAAF President Sebastian Coe.
“I can not say she will compete in Rio but the Council said they will look favourably”.
The president of the IAAF Sebastian Coe has said that Russian Federation has made some progress in tackling the use of prohibited substances by athletes, but it was “not enough” to lift the ban.
Tallent on Friday was presented with his gold medal from the men’s 50-kilometre walk at the London Olympics, where he crossed the line second behind Russian drug cheat Sergey Kirdyapkin. Two of those have already been stripped because of doping violations, and others could be in jeopardy.
The statement was issued after a teleconference meeting of the International Olympic Committee executive board.
Russia’s national track and field championships were supposed to offer a chance to secure Olympic places, but with its athletes now banned from the Rio Games, excitement for competition has been replaced by despair and defiance.
It added that the Olympics “are supposed to be a source of unity, and we hope that they remain as a way of bringing people together”.
Coe said he will attend the meeting and also emphasized that IAAF alone has the authority to determine athlete eligibility in global competitions. Incredibly, this correspondence took place after a German documentary alleging systematic doping in Russian Federation, and featuring athletes who admitted to being part of that regime, was aired. In January 2016, it expelled four senior officials after it was revealed they conspired to extort money from an athlete who tested positive in return for hiding the adverse findings.
“If it’s as deep as reports have shown, you have to attack it at its core”, Drouin said from the Harry Jerome International Track Classic in Burnaby, B.C. “It is IAAF that needs to be dissolved, considered that its president [Sebastian Coe] is under a criminal investigation for receiving bribes”, Mutko told R-Sport.
Speaking later on Friday, Coe said: “Look, I don’t claim this to be a badge of honour but anybody who really knows me will know I don’t have a computer”.
“We’ll keep going in every way. Ultimately, Council chose to act with unanimity and strength to help rebuild the integrity of the sport and the public trust”.
The Canadian Olympic Committee also supported the decision.
The Russians have responded with predictable pique-just as many refused to condemn the violence of their football hooligans during the European Championship earlier this week, which has led to a suspended disqualification from the tournament.
“I will not be silent. So they’ve taken a tough stance and I credit them for doing that”. I’ll turn to a human rights court.
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“Let’s be honest, it is clear that the decision was made following orders from above”, former triple jump world champion Yolanda Chen told RT.
