IAAF Votes to Extend Russia's Suspension

Doha, September 25 (QNA) - The General Assembly of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) approved today the decision to maintain the suspension of Russia's excluded from the competition since November 2015, during its meeting in Doha and two days before the start of the world championships in the Qatari capital starting from Friday. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said on September 25 that 164 of its 194 members had voted to keep the suspension of Russia, with 30 votes against. In June, the IAAF had given Russia three months to demonstrate it was making progress in cleaning up its drug-monitoring systems. But on September 23, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said it had begun compliance proceedings against the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) over "inconsistencies" in the data it supplied at the start of the year. Russia has been suspended from international track-and-field competitions since 2015, after revelations of widespread doping. RUSAF President Dmitry Shlyakhtin argued ahead of the vote that "RUSAF has changed and supports all initiatives." However, the WADA proceedings appeared to undermine that claim. For his part, head of the IAAF Taskforce overseeing Russia's reinstatement Rune Andersen said that evidence shows that the results of doping cases have been removed from Moscow laboratory data and that suspended doctors and trainers are still working with athletes. He confirmed the existence of false documents in the Moscow laboratory, and that members of the Russian Federation conspired to send those documents to IAAF, noting that the aim of integrity is to play fairly, commit and stay away from the culture of doping and ban it permanently. He added that the Russian authorities should have provided the correct data from Moscow anti-doping laboratories, but there are fundamental differences in the data considered by the integrity unit, which confirms that the Russian authorities are not committed and that the Russian Federation has to resolve the current problems in order to return to membership. About 30 "clean" Russian athletes have been cleared to compete as neutrals at the World Championships in athletics starts on September 27 in Qatar. The meeting discussed many topics on the agenda and the minutes of previous meeting which were all sent to member federations and approved. The General Assembly reviewed the various reports from the Board, the auditor, committees, bodies and regulations. The proposed changes to laws and regulations in light of the overall changes witnessed by IAAF were also approved. The meeting also discussed the issue of membership for federations that did not meet their obligations, especially the Gabon Athletics Federation which did not submit its annual report for 2018, despite repeated requests from IAAF and therefore it will not be allowed to vote and attend the elections. Other topics on the agenda included the reports of the federations and the adopted approvals regarding the amendments to the law and the proposals submitted, as well as the developments and changes in the world of athletics. The General Assembly also listened to the reports of committees, bodies and projects that have been implemented during the past two years, with a focus on the report of the spending committee which was criticized for increasing the deficit to reach $26 million. The meeting also discussed the developments in the women's committee which was based on the importance of equality between men and women through the implementation of the same activities and the provision of the same possibilities and competitions. The meeting reviewed reports of several committees and bodies of the Federation, including the competitions committee which is working on the development of new races; the trainers committee which pays attention to this category by requiring the ministries of youth in countries to the need for trainers to obtain international licenses, and the adult committee that cares about senior athletes who have practiced this sport for over 40 years. (QNA)