Russia set to miss world tourney as ban stays

Rune Anderson, head of the task force of the sport’s world ruling body, told reporters he did not expect Russia to be re-admitted to the sport before November, meaning its athletes will not be able to take part in the global showpiece event in London in August. Russia’s Athletics Federation (RUSAF) was banned in November, 2015 after an independent World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) probe exposed state-sponsored doping on a massive scale. 

The suspension was upheld last year, ruling almost all Russian track and field athletes out of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. A second report by Canadian professor Richard McLaren last year said Moscow had “hijacked international sport” over a five-year period and that more than 1,000 Russian competitors in 30 sports were involved in an “institutional conspiracy” to cover up positive tests. 

“If everything goes in accordance to plan there will be a full reinstatement by November 2017,” Anderson said. Anderson said Russia had been presented with a list of demands before it could be allowed to compete again, adding that there had been positive and negative developments in meetings in Moscow last month.