media_artricles :: 2016

Russia Olympic ban upheld

Russia's track and field athletes will not be allowed to compete at the Rio Olympics after the IAAF (International Amateur Athletics Federation) refused to lift the ban imposed for state-sponsored doping and corruption.

The IAAF Council met in Vienna yesterday to vote on whether to readmit Russia, who were first banned in November after a report by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), with Russia Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko writing a last-ditch plea to IAAF president Sebastian Coe in which he claimed Russia was "doing everything possible to ensure our athletes are a part of clean and fair Olympic Games."

The IAAF extended the ban on the All-Russian Athletic Federation (ARAF) in March, with Coe stressing that it would only be lifted if there was clear evidence of a "verifiable change both in anti-doping practice and culture", something Russia have not been able to show, prompting a unanimous vote yesterday to maintain the ban.

WADA's latest damning report, released on Wednesday, cast doubt over Russia's compliance, saying hundreds of attempts to carry out drug tests on Russian athletes this year had been thwarted, with drug testers facing intimidation and threats from armed Russian security forces.

But there may be room for a compromise, with senior Russian athletes expected to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

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