(ATR) The IAAF has rejected all but one application made by 68 Russian athletes seeking to compete at the Rio Olympics in a "neutral" capacity.
The federation’s doping review board on Sunday decided that Russian long jumper Darya Klishina met the exceptional eligibility criteria to compete in international competition, clearing her to compete in Rio.
The 25-year-old’s participation as a neutral athlete is still subject to approval by Rio 2016 organisers. Doping whistleblower Yuliya Stepanova, a pivotal figure in helping WADA to expose Russia’s state-sponsored doping system, is the other athlete already cleared to compete at this summer’s Games.
The track and field body last month upheld its November ban on the Russian athletics team competing at the Rio Games following WADA’s report revealing systematic doping.
In its statement on Sunday night, the IAAF said its doping review board received a total of 136 applications from Russian athletes seeking exceptional eligibility to compete in an individual capacity "namely on the basis that they are not tainted by RUSAF's failure to put in place adequate anti-doping systems because they have been subject to other, fully adequate systems outside of the country for a sufficiently long period to provide a substantial assurance of integrity".
Most of these applications have now been dealt with apart from applications for the European Youth Championships in Tbilisi.
The All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) said on Sunday that it had been told Klishina was the only successful applicant of the 68 athletes seeking exemptions from the IAAF ban. The decision by the doping review board was based on a set of criteria established the IAAF task force on Russian doping. Athletes had to show they were outside the Russian anti-doping system and subject to strict drug testing in the country where they were based.
"Main reason of why Russian applications were refused, was lack of trust towards Russian anti-doping system," ARAF said.
"IAAF did not take into consideration the fact that in the last six months all and every candidate to the Russian national team has been subjected to additional testing done by foreign anti-doping organizations in accordance with IAAF instructions."
ARAF complained that "IAAF criteria are not fair" and said it was supporting appeals against the country’s international suspension submitted by the Russian NOC and group of athletes to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The Russian athletics federation said its athletes were continuing to prepare for Rio 2016 it will use "all legal opportunities in order to secure participation of Russian athletes in the Olympic Games".
The Court of Arbitration for Sport is expected to rule on the case in the next 10 days.
Reported by Mark Bisson
20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.
Últimas Noticias
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
