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IAAF: Russian athletics federation remains suspended

November 26, 2017

The IAAF has refused to lift Russia's suspension from international track and field. The athletics world governing body said Russia had still not done enough to clamp down on doping.

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Athletes compete in a women's 3000-meter steeplechase heat at the World Athletics Championships in the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow, Russia
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/D. J. Phillip

Russia's athletics federation (RUSAF) will continue to be suspended from international track and field competitions, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said on Sunday, saying some reinstatement conditions are still lacking.

"The conditions established by the IAAF Council for reinstatement of RUSAF to IAAF membership have not yet been met in full," track's world governing body said in a statement following a Council meeting in Monaco.

RUSAF has been banned from international athletics competitions since late 2015 following a report by Richard McLaren that alleged there was a state-sponsored doping program in place.

Read more: Timeline — Doping in Russia

Doping agency still missing

Sunday's IAAF decision also cited concerns that Russia had still not done enough to clamp down on doping.

Norwegian official Rune Andersen, the head of the IAAF team examining the issue, said that Russia could not be brought back into international competitions until the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) reinstated Russia's domestic anti-doping agency, RUSADA.

The "reinstatement of RUSADA as a fully independent and code-compliant" body was one of the main conditions, Andersen said at a press conference Sunday.

Another major stumbling block is Russia's refusal to acknowledge McLaren's findings.

The IAAF has allowed some Russians to compete as so-called neutral athletes after reviewing their drug-testing history.

Sunday's decision dealt a blow to Russia's hopes of competing under its own flag during the world indoor championships in Birmingham in March.

The decision also comes ahead of a key International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting from December 5-7 on whether Russia can compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

rs/jlw (AP, AFP, dpa)