ZCZC
BSP-23
ATHLETICS-DOPING-RUS-IAAF-WADA-CAS
Russian athletics chief takes case to court over IAAF reinstatement
LONDON, Sept 26, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Russian athletics, emboldened by WADA’s
lifting of the three-year ban on Russia’s anti-doping agency (RUSADA) has
demanded to have its ban from track and field terminated, according to a
letter seen by The Times.
Russian athletics chief Dmitry Shlyaktin sent the letter to Sebastian Coe,
president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF),
informing him he is taking the case to the Court of Arbitration of Sport
(CAS).
Shlyaktin argues that the reasons for the banning of his organisation and
its athletes, which the IAAF imposed in November 2015, are no longer
pertinent as they were the same ones the World Anti-Doping Agency used when
they punished RUSADA.
WADA suspended RUSADA, also in November 2015, after declaring it non-
compliant following revelations of a vast state-backed scheme to avoid drug
testers.
“Given that the outstanding criteria for RUSAF’s (Russian athletics
federation) reinstatement were essentially identical to those that the WADA
executive committee has considered met, and that time is of the essence, we
respectfully request that the IAAF decide to reinstate RUSAF as soon as
possible,” wrote Shlyatkin.
“In the meantime, however, RUSAF has no choice but to protect its rights
and, accordingly, has filed today an appeal before the Court of Arbitration
for Sport against the IAAF Council’s decision to extend RUSAF’s suspension.”
The IAAF told The Times in light of the letter: “We have led the way to
fight for clean athletes and we will continue to do so.”
Coe, who has consistently been the most prominent sports administrator in
taking a hard line over the doping scandal, had said following WADA’s
decision to lift the ban that Russia needed to meet two pre-conditions to be
allowed to return to international athletics competition. The IAAF will next
broach the subject at a Council meeting in December.
“The reinstatement of RUSADA was one of three pre-conditions,” he said in
a statement issued by the IAAF.
“The other two pre-conditions are Russian authorities must acknowledge the
findings of the McLaren and Schmid Commissions that Ministry of Sport
officials were implicated in the scheme to cover up the doping of Russian
athletes as described in their reports.
“The Russian authorities must (also) provide access to the data from
testing of samples at the Moscow lab from 2011 to 2015, so that the Athletics
Integrity Unit can determine whether the suspicious findings reported in the
Moscow lab’s database should be pursued.”
The decision to lift the ban on RUSADA was taken last week at a meeting of
WADA’s executive committee — subject it said to “strict conditions” — but
the softening of their stance triggered outrage from athletes and national
anti-doping agencies around the world.
They accused WADA of succumbing to pressure from the International Olympic
Committee (IOC).
BSS/AFP/BZC/1850HRS