IAAF upholds bans on Russian athletes for Rio Games

The IAAF upheld its ban on Russia’s track and field team for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Friday in a landmark decision that punishes the world power for systematic doping.

The Russian sports ministry said it was notified of the decision by track and field’s world governing body, which ruled the country had not done enough to earn reinstatement.

The suspension was imposed in November following a report by a World Anti-Doping Agency commission that alleged statesponsored cheating, corruption and coverups in Russian track and field.

The Russian ministry said it was “extremely disappointed” by the decision to ban the entire team from the Rio Games. It appealed to the IOC to “consider the impact that our athletes’ exclusion will have on the dreams and the people of Russia.”

The International Olympic Committee has scheduled a summit of sports leaders next Tuesday to address “the difficult decision between collective responsibility and individual justice.” That meeting could potentially open the door for individual athletes who have never been accused of doping and are deemed to be clean to compete at the games.

“We will look at the next step for us,” IOC vice-president John Coates said earlier in Australia. “It’s the IOC who have been testing and re-testing samples. The debate next Tuesday will be on the issue of individual justice and rights.”

The decision to uphold the ban came in a meeting of the IAAF’s ruling council. The IAAF acted on a recommendation by a special task force that has monitored Russia’s reform efforts.

The meeting came two days after a new WADA report cited continuing obstruction and violations of drug testing in Russia.

“We are extremely disappointed by the IAAF’s decision to uphold the ban on all of our track and field athletes, creating the unprecedented situation of a whole nation’s track and field athletes being banned from the Olympics,” the Russian sports ministry said.