IAAF upholds Olympic ban on Russian athletes

Global Business

Olympics flag (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

IAAF President Sebastian Coe called it a “very strong decision” because the judgment was based entirely on the objective assessment of the task-force with clear criteria.

However, the IAAF said Russian athletes could still compete as neutrals if they can prove they are clean.

CCTV’s Dan Williams reports from Vienna. Follow Dan Williams on Twitter @Danielclearcut

The focus now is moving to the International Olympic Committee. The IOC will host a summit next week to discuss the issue.

There are suggestions that the IOC could over-rule the decision, but the IAAF is certain that will not be the case.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said an appeal is under consideration.

But with less than 50 days to go to the start of the Rio Games time is fast running out for Russia’s athletes.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on Friday upheld its ban on Russia’s track and field teams competing in international competitions, including the Rio 2016 Olympics.

The Independent Chair of the IAAF inspection team, Rune Andersen, said that confidence in Russian athletes to be drug-free had eroded.

The suspension was originally imposed in November following a report by a World Anti-Doping Agency commission that alleged state-sponsored doping, corruption and cover-ups in Russian track.

“Because the system in Russia has been tainted by doping from top level and down,” Andersen said. “We cannot trust what we call and what people might call clean athletes really are clean.”

IAAF President Sebastian Coe, left, and and Rune Andersen Chair of IAAF Inspection Team attend a news conference after a meeting of the IAAF Council at the Grand Hotel in Vienna, Austria, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

IAAF President Sebastian Coe, left, and and Rune Andersen Chair of IAAF Inspection Team attend a news conference after a meeting of the IAAF Council at the Grand Hotel in Vienna, Austria, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

The Russian sports ministry later said it was notified of the decision by the track and field’s world governing body, which ruled that the country has not done enough to earn reinstatement.

The IAAF has stated one of the major obstacles to reinstating the athletes has been lack of acknowledgement by the Russian athletic community.

“The first step that needs to be undertaken by Russia, is to acknowledge that there is a problem in all parts of government level, and sports level and then we can move forward.”

Seth Brenzweig discusses Russian doping

For more on doping athletes and their impact on global sport, CCTV’s Nathan King spoke to Seth Brenzweig, founder and managing partner of the law firm Berenzweig Leonard.