Russia set to miss London World Athletics Championships after IAAF votes to continue ban

Sebastian Coe addresses a press conference
AFP/Getty Images
Mark Staniforth7 February 2017

Russia's ban from international athletics competition is set to extend beyond the World Championships in London in August, the International Association of Athletics Federations has announced.

The IAAF voted unanimously to extend the ban on the Russian Athletics Federation, which was originally excluded in 2015 following allegations of state-sponsored doping.

Rune Andersen, the independent chairman of the IAAF Taskforce, indicated RUSAF is unlikely to be reinstated until the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) declares the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) code-compliant in November.

Andersen said: "The road map that I outlined... clearly states there will be no reinstatement until RUSADA is functioning... and presumably if everything goes to plan there will be a full reinstatement by November 2017.

"This meant Russia as a nation, or RUSAF, is not recommended by us to be reinstated before that time."

The IAAF said that it has currently had applications from 35 individual Russian athletes to compete as international athletes.

IAAF president Lord Coe added: "We have always been at pains to provide an opportunity for athletes who can demonstrate they are from a clean system, where we are comfortable that the registered testing pool is a valid one, and that they are under international supervision.

"But most importantly we are not going to jeopardise the opportunities and the chances of clean athletes who are competing alongside them. We have always felt that that is a proportionate response."

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