The suspension of the Russian athletics federation in connection with the institutionalized doping scandal was extended for a seventh year on Wednesday, after internal reforms received a mixed reception and warnings were issued since they were there is no consensus.
As part of its congress, World Athletics voted in favor of maintaining the suspension, in effect since November 2015. The organization did not specify the outcome of the ballot.
The vote was taken after the presentation of the director of the World Athletics committee responsible for overseeing the reform of the Russian athletics federation, Rune Andersen. He wrote in a report that a “new culture” has been planted in the Russian athletics federation, dubbed RusAF.
The federation changed its governance after ex-president Dmitry Shlyakhtin and four other top leaders were suspended for interfering with an anti-doping investigation into the filing of falsified medical documents by a nation’s star athlete. Russia had hoped to have their suspension lifted in 2019, but the ensuing revelations in this case nearly resulted in his expulsion from World Athletics.
“RusAF has continued to progress in meeting the requirements to be re-admitted as a member of World Athletics,” Andersen noted in his report. The committee believes these changes reflect a culture change within RusAF, and the RusAF appears to reject the doping schemes of the past and focus on sound practices for the future. “
However, there was some resistance to change within the Russian organization, he warned.
“Some people within the federation do not appreciate this new culture, and there is still a lot of work to be done within RusAF to ensure that they no longer hamper reform efforts, which should be continued. by a new generation of Russian athletes and coaches, ”Andersen wrote.
He added that senior Russian officials have agreed that inspections will be stepped up once the RusAF suspension is lifted, and that it pay the costs associated with additional doping tests due to “concerns” associated with the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, which is still suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency.