IAAF Checks Russia Progress; Four Athletes Banned for Doping

(ATR) IAAF inspectors met the new president of Russia's athletics federation in Moscow Monday, as the Russian Olympic Committee announced doping bans for four athletes.

Athletics’ governing body confirmed to Around the Rings that Rune Andersen’s IAAF task force, charged with overseeing Russia’s anti-doping revamp, was in the Russian capital meeting Dmitry Shlyakhtin and the country’s top athletics officials. Shlyakhtin was elected head of the All-Russian Athletics Federation last week.

The IAAF told ATR the most important reason for this week’s visit was for task force chairman Andersen "to meet the new leadership of Russian athletics federation".

Meetings in the Russian capital today and Tuesday come two weeks after the Norwegian anti-doping expert and his team were in Moscow. The task force is assessing Russia’s commitments to reinstatement conditions and verification criteria demanded by the IAAF following the country’s suspension from international athletics in November.

The IAAF told ATR that the anti-doping task force would visit Russia at least once, maybe twice in February.

ARAF has a massive job on its hands to revamp its anti-doping system to meet IAAF rules and become compliant with the World Anti-Doping Agency code.

Revelations of state-sponsored doping in the first report by the WADA Independent Commission headed by Richard Pound have triggered changes. But last week Shlyakhtin rated Russia’s chances of its track and field athletes being allowed to compete at the Rio Games at only 50-50.

As if intent on showing the IAAF and WADA that progress is being made, the Russian Olympic Committee on Monday banned European 800m silver medallist Irina Maracheva for two years for a doping violation.

Race walker Anna Lukyanova was given a two-year ban. Middle-distance runners Maria Nikolayeva and Yelena Nikulina received four-year bans.

Nikolayeva was suspended for using performance-enhancing drugs, according to Russian news agency TASS.

TASS also reported that the All-Russia Athletics Federation had banned track-and-field coach Lyudmila Fedoriva over doping violations. Her ban begins Sept. 22, 2015. Fedoriva trains her daughter Alexandra, who won gold in the Beijing 2008 Olympics 4x100 relay.

Reported by Hironori Hashimoto and Mark Bisson

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