IAAF Inspectors Return to Moscow; UKAD Helps Russia

(ATR) The IAAF task force evaluating Russia’s progress towards reinstatement heads to Moscow for its third visit Feb. 15-16.

"The meetings are again with the Interim Coordination Committee of the ROC [Russian Olympic Committee] and the new leadership of Russian athletics federation," an IAAF spokesman tells Around the Rings.

"As in the previous meetings, Rune Andersen [chairman] will go through the verification criteria in order to see how much progress has been done from the Russian side and if there is an improvement."

Andersen and his team, which includes IOC member from Namibia Frank Fredericks, will meet again with the new head of the Russian federation Dmitry Shlyakhtin who was appointed last month under attempts to bring Russian athletics back to the international fold.

Shlyakhtin in January rated Russia’s chances at 50:50 of overhauling Russia’s anti-doping regime after it was banned from international competition in November. Revelations of state-sponsored doping in the first report by the WADA Independent Commission headed by Richard Pound led to the ban.

Pound’s second report released last month said corruption was "embedded" at the IAAF. The IAAF and WADA are currently working with Russia’s NOC and athletics federation to revamp its anti-doping system. If Russia does not achieve compliance with the rules of the IAAF and World Anti-Doping Agency, its track-and-field athletes will not compete at the Rio Olympics.

On Monday, the IAAF published a list of 4,000 Russian athletes currently banned from competing under the federation’s suspension. It was an update to a list first published in December.

"The list is to inform event organizers who are the elite Russian athletes suspended from international competitions," an IAAF spokesman told ATR. "It is part of the verification criteria."

WADA announced Wednesday that a deal has been signed for the UK Anti-Doping agency (UKAD) to take conduct drug-testing in Russia on a temporary basis after its anti-doping body was declared non-compliant with the agency’s code in November.

WADA said in a statement that UKAD "will ensure that targeted and intelligence-led testing is carried out on Russian athletes, and is responsible for continued coordination with the appropriate sport federations during this period".

"Results management of all cases will be managed by a designated independent body, with full oversight by WADA," the statement said. "Separately, WADA is working directly with RUSADA, assisting the agency in its efforts to regain code compliance."

In a separate development in the world of athletics, Sally Bolton yesterday quit as managing director of the London 2017 IAAF world championships.

The resignation for what UK Athletics called "personal reasons" comes amid turmoil in the London 2017 boardroom. Two other officials, Heather Hancock and Martin Stewart, quit last week reportedly over conflicts with London 2017 chair Ed Warner and chief executive Niels De Vos.

Written by Mark Bisson

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