Russia will be banned from the World Athletics Championships in London in August after the sport's leaders decided that the country's exclusion from int'l competition will "remain beyond the summer" due to state-organized doping, according to Martyn Ziegler of the LONDON TIMES. The IAAF said at a news conference in Monaco Monday night that "Russia will not be reinstated before November." It was also announced that the IAAF will "freeze all nationality switches" in the sport after complaints that athletes were changing to countries where they had "no real ties." The issue of so-called "Plastic Brits" has "proved controversial in the recent past," and there has been criticism of countries such as Qatar, Turkey and Bahrain giving permits to athletes from Africa. Rune Andersen, the head of the IAAF's task force, said, "The road map that I outlined clearly states there will be no reinstatement until RUSADA [the Russian anti-doping agency] is functioning ... and presumably if everything goes to plan there will be a full reinstatement by November 2017" (LONDON TIMES, 2/7).
NEUTRAL ATHLETES: In London, Sean Ingle reported Russian athletes "will be allowed to compete under a neutral flag in the world championships provided they can prove to the IAAF that they have been tested regularly outside Russia." Thirty-five athletes have already applied to the governing body of int'l athletics for approval. IAAF President Sebastian Coe said that the approach would "help protect track and field for clean athletes." Coe added, "We have always been at pains to provide an opportunity for those Russians who can demonstrate they are from a clean system to compete, while ensuring they are not going to jeopardize the opportunity and the chances of the clean athletes competing alongside them." The IAAF said that it was encouraged that Russian Athletics was "heading in the right direction," praising Russian Athletics Federation President Dmitri Shlyakhtin's "tireless work to meet the specific and detailed requirements set out in the verification criteria" (GUARDIAN, 2/6). Also in London, Ben Rumsby reported Great Britain is "among a raft of countries to exploit" the "transfers of allegiance" rules allowing athletes to switch nationality, "most notoriously" American-born hurdler Tiffany Porter. Just over a year before Rio 2016, Zharnel Hughes -- the teenage sprinter tipped to be the "next Usain Bolt" -- was one of five foreign-born athletes to "pledge allegiance" to Team GB. The IAAF mandated a "working group to study the issue and submit proposals for new rules no later than the end of the year." Coe said, "It has become abundantly clear with regular multiple transfers of athletes, especially from Africa, that the present rules are no longer fit for purpose." Meanwhile, the council approved a proposal by Coe that the IAAF "abandon the formal bidding process by which its major events -- including the World Championships -- are awarded" (TELEGRAPH, 2/6).
RUSSIAN RESPONSE: REUTERS' Brian Homewood reported Andersen said that 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. The negative ones included "unhelpful comments" by Russian Sports Minister & Deputy PM Vitaly Mutko, he said (REUTERS, 2/6). The BBC reported Mutko said that Russian coaches who "do not understand how to work without doping" should "retire." Mutko, who was criticized by the IAAF on Monday, accepted "there were many abuses and breaches" but said "colossal work has been done" over the last year. He added, "Athletes broke the rules and many coaches don't understand how to work without doping and it's high time for them to retire" (BBC, 2/7).
