The head of World Athletics has said he is not yet “fully confident” that Russia has completed a “recovery plan” to fully return athletes to the sport
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe has reportedly said that bosses “cannot trust the system” which would potentially allow Russia to return from its sanctions imposed as a result of a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) ruling.
A WADA verdict in 2020 ordered Russian athletes to appear at major events under the Russian Olympic Committee banner for four years, although the decision was later halved and is due to run until December 2022.
Competitors have beed forced to compete with a neutral flag and national anthem at competitions including the summer Games in Tokyo in 2021 and the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics.
The All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) was suspended by the Council of the International Association of Athletics Federations at a meeting chaired by British olympic legend Sebastian Coe in 2015.
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Now Coe has said that the sanctions approved by his organization will depend on the status of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA).
“Russian athletics will return to the international arena after the recovery plan is fully implemented,” Coe told TASS.