Russia Remains Banned as IAAF World Outdoor Championships Approach

By Adam Kopet

The IAAF Council has voted Monday to maintain the ban on the Russian Athletics Federation, four days before the start of the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Russian reinstatement has stalled as steps are still needed to regain compliance with the IAAF.

Recent allegations that banned Russian coaches have continued to work with athletes has proved to be true. Such instances show the culture that led to the state sponsored doping programs in the past is still prevalent.

Further, Russian Athletics Federation officials allegedly helped to fabricate medical documents in an effort to clear Danil Lysenko of an anti-doping violation.

This all comes while the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Athletics Integrity Unit continue to examine data collected from the Moscow RUSADA lab, checking it for authenticity and making sure the data has not been tampered with.

Good news for Russia reinstatement is that the Russian Athletics Federation is current in its payments to the IAAF relating to its ban. Russia paid $187,039 for costs incurred during the second quarter of this year.

Despite Russia's official ban, as many as 30 Russian athletes will be eligible to compete at the World Outdoor Championships as Authorized Neutral Athletes.