Firefighting Coe, Russia again in IAAF spotlight
MONACO: A reform- driven Sebastian Coe and drugs-tainted Russia will again be in the spotlight of athletics’ world governing body when the IAAF gathers for three days of crunch meetings starting Thursday.
A crucial part of the opening IAAF Council meeting will be dedicated to the latest update from Norwegian Rune Andersen, the head of the IAAF Taskforce looking into the steps Russia is taking to combat doping.
The International Association of Athletics Federations first enforced a ban on Russian athletes in international competition in November 2015 after a bombshell World Anti-Doping Agency ( WADA) report unveiled systematic state-sponsored doping and corruption.
Andersen will report to IAAF’s decision-making body whether he thinks Russia have since met the reinstatement conditions set down.
The initial ban has twice been extended, in March and June this year.
It was Andersen’s latter Taskforce report in Vienna that scuppered Russian athletes’ chances of competing at the Rio Games, despite a last- ditch campaign to overthrow the ban led by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putinhas in recent days, however, approved a law criminalising doping in sports, while Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko has promised anti- doping inspectors full access to military cities which are normally closed to members of the public although often listed as training bases by many Russian athletes.
Staying with the anti- doping theme, Coe will on Saturday preside over a Special IAAF Congress, a one-issue meeting concentrating on the governance structure reform proposals presented in his ‘Time for Change’ document. — AFP