The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has once again extended the disqualification of the All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF). In a session in Monaco on 9 June, the IAAF council refused to reinstate Russia’s membership, which was suspended in 2015 in connection with mass doping, DW reports.

Rune Andersen, head of the IAAF work group that is supervising Russia’s efforts to rejoin the association, said that his team had advised the organization’s leaders to make this decision. He also said that the IAAF would be investigating media reports that two Russian trainers and one doctor who had been suspended from working with athletes were still continuing their activity.

Thus it appears that no Russian team will participate in the World Athletics Championships in Doha between 27 September and 6 October this year. The next IAAF council session will be held several days after the championship’s opening ceremony.

The IAAF imposed restrictions on the ARAF in November 2015 based on the findings of an investigation by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Since then, Russian athletes have not been allowed to participate in international contests under their national flag. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency was disqualified in 2015 for violating the anti-doping rules. In September 2018, the WADA reinstated the Russian department’s rights, on condition that the Russian agency grant access to data on Russian athletes’ doping tests. The Russian agency has until the end of June 2019 to submit all “suspicious” doping tests from the Moscow laboratory for verification.

  IAAF, Russia

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