(ATR) World Athletics approves a final reinstatement plan for the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) which could open the door for a few Russian track and field athletes to compete as neutrals in Tokyo.
The World Athletics Council unanimously agreed with the recommendation of the federation’s Russia Taskforce and has signed off on the plan, which has been published on the federation’s website.
But the process for Russia, which has been suspended by World Athletics since November 2015 for state-sponsored doping, to return to the fold will not be quick.
"This is not the end but the beginning of a long journey, with an incredible amount of work for RusAF to do to rebuild trust," World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said.
In recommending the reinstatement plan to Council, Russia Taskforce chair Rune Andersen said "[T]he three international experts appointed by World Athletics have worked closely with RusAF on the development of the Reinstatement Plan and advised the Taskforce that they believe the Plan is fit for the purpose of embedding in Russian athletics the deep-rooted change in culture that Council has been demanding for the past five years.
"In addition, although RusAF President Peter Ivanov has been required to step down for two years because of his appointment as a senior official of the Russian Government (to respect the CAS sanctions imposed on Russian Government officials in the WADA/RUSADA compliance case), the international experts also consider that the senior management that Mr Ivanov has put in place will be able to move the Plan forward in his absence, under the temporary leadership of RusAF Vice-President Irina Privalova as Acting President."
Andersen concluded that the Taskforce would be able to report "to future Council meetings whether RusAF is keeping up with the enormous work that will be required to implement the Reinstatement Plan successfully".
The approval of a reinstatement plan had been a prerequisite for allowing up to 10 Russian athletes to compete as Authorized Neutral Athletes (ANAs) in international competitions including the Tokyo Olympics.
The taskforce said it will address the question of ANAs in its report to the Council meeting scheduled for March 17-18.
The Council, at its last meeting in December, decided that it will consider whether to allow Russian athletes to compete again as ANAs at the March meeting.
Written by Gerard Farek
For general comments or questions,click here.
Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.
Recent Articles
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Beyond the final result, Roland Garros left the feeling that the Italian and the Spaniard will shape the great duel that came to help us through the duel for the end of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era.
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
She is the third in her sport and the seventh athlete to achieve it in the same edition; in Santiago 2023 she was the first athlete with disabilities to compete at the Pan American level and won a medal.
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Argentinian Rodrigo Isgró received a five-game suspension for an indiscipline in the circuit’s decisive clash that would exclude him until the final or the bronze match; the Federation will seek to make the appeal successful.
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
The Kenyan received the maximum sanction for irregularities in his biological passport and the Court considered that he was part of a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping” to improve his performance. He will lose his record and the bronze medal at the Doha World Cup.
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
The American, a seven-time Olympic champion, referred to the case of the 23 positive controls before the Tokyo Games that were announced a few weeks ago and shook the swimming world. “I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low,” he said.
