WADA said on Tuesday that it "decided not to re-impose a suspension" on Russian anti-doping agency RUSADA despite Moscow "missing a deadline to hand over laboratory data," according to Tétrault-Farber & Keating of REUTERS. RUSADA had asked WADA last week "not to suspend it after missing the Dec. 31 deadline," which was a condition for the agency to hold on to its accreditation. RUSADA was suspended in '15 after a WADA-commissioned report "found evidence of state-sponsored doping in Russian athletics." WADA on Tuesday said that it would "continue to follow a roadmap for RUSADA to keep its accreditation and would not suspend the agency for the missed deadline" (REUTERS, 1/22). REUTERS also reported former world champions Sergey Shubenkov and Maria Lasitskene were among 42 Russian athletes cleared to compete as neutrals in int'l competition this year, the IAAF said on Monday. The governing body said that the athletes, who were also afforded neutral status last year, had met its doping review board's "exceptional eligibility criteria" of training in an environment that "passed the necessary anti-doping requirements." This year's world championships take place in Doha from Sept. 27-Oct. 6 (REUTERS, 1/22).
