World Athletics Council will consider status of Authorised Neutral Athlete programme at December meeting

The World Athletics Council has extended the deadline for the Russian athletics federation (RusAF) to finalise its reinstatement plan to March 1.

The suspension of RusAF as a World Athletics (then IAAF) Member has been in place since November 2015. It came after a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Independent Commission report detailed findings including a “deeply rooted culture of cheating” in Russian athletics.

The original deadline for the RusAF Reinstatement Commission to produce “an appropriate reinstatement plan” was September 30 but that has been moved to March next year following a recommendation from World Athletics’ Russia Taskforce.

“The primary reason for the Taskforce’s recommendation is that it believes RusAF currently does not have the resources available to produce a detailed and appropriate plan for reinstatement, which includes the elements required by the Council,” said a statement from the global governing body.

“These requirements are: to ingrain throughout Russian athletics (including coaches and other support personnel employed by the Centre for Sports Preparation and/or through regional Ministries of Sport) a culture of zero tolerance for doping; and to rehabilitate RusAF so that it becomes a trusted ally of World Athletics in the fight for clean sport.”

World Athletics added that the RusAF Reinstatement Commission had provided a draft plan by the specified deadline of August 31, which was one of the actions required to prevent the World Athletics Council from instigating expulsion proceedings.

The Taskforce noted: “This failure appears to be due not to a lack of willingness but rather a lack of knowhow and resources.

“There is currently a void at RusAF – they have no board, no senior management, and very few experienced staff. They need to fill that void urgently with people who share the vision to change the culture of the organisation and the sport, and who have the skills to do so. We understand they are in the process of organising the election of a new president and management board, which will obviously be an important step.”

World Athletics added that its Council will consider the status of the Authorised Neutral Athlete (ANA) programme, which has previously allowed individual Russian athletes to compete internationally despite RusAF’s suspension, at its December meeting.

The ANA programme has been suspended since March.

“I would like to thank Rune Andersen and his Taskforce for their diligent work over the last month,” said World Athletics president Seb Coe.

“They have determined that the RusAF Reinstatement Commission needs more time to put a proper reinstatement plan in place and we are confident that they continue to guide us well.

“The ANA process for 2021 will be reviewed and discussed against progress of the plan at the December Council meeting.”

Dr Margarita Pakhnotskaya, the former deputy director-general of RUSADA, has been appointed as one of two experts based in Russia who are set to “guide and support the new RusAF team to produce an adequate plan”. The second is yet to be announced.

Coe added: “The Taskforce believes that the international experts will be very well-equipped to help RusAF’s Reinstatement Commission complete the plan in a matter of two or three months, but they recommended a long-stop deadline of March 1, 2021.

“If an adequate plan is not completed by then, the Council will once again consider the matter of RusAF’s expulsion.”