Russia and Kenya, two of the most controversial countries in the fight against sports doping, received encouraging news from the body that oversees athletics on the planet on Wednesday, even as the country of Vladimir Putin learned that he will not be able to send athletes to international competitions before the end of the war in Ukraine.
Kenya began a series of World Athletics fixtures this week in Rome under scrutiny due to a long-delayed doping crisis that led to the suspension of around 50 athletes.
World Athletics chairman Sebastian Coe, however, said rumors of the country’s full suspension were wrong and that massive investment by the Kenyan government in its anti-doping agency had reassured athletics leaders and put an end to their plans to impose more draconian sanctions.
Russia, for its part, has received encouraging information from the committee responsible for overseeing its efforts to meet the requirements of the World Anti-Doping Agency, following the widespread doping scandal which had been discovered even before the Olympics were held. of Sochi, in 2014. The director of the committee, Rune Andersen, mentioned that, if Russia continues to progress, it will be able to reintegrate the Russian Athletics Federation into its fold next March.
However, this does not mean that Russia would immediately obtain permission to participate in major events such as the World Championships or the Paris Olympics in 2024.
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