IAAF Provisionally Suspends Russia's Athletic Teams

Nov 13, 2015 by Taylor Dutch

Sebastian Coe told BBC Sport: "The message could not be stronger."

The IAAF Council voted overwhelmingly on Friday to provisionally suspend the All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF) from all international competition in response to doping allegations raised earlier in the week. The suspension would effectively ban Russia from the 2016 Rio Olympics as well as the World Athletic Series.

“A total of 24 Members of Council took part in the meeting: 22 voted in favor of the sanction against ARAF, who have been officially informed of the Council’s decision, 1 voted against. The Council Member from Russia was not eligible to participate in the vote,” the IAAF wrote in a press release, confirming their decision.

IAAF President Sebastian Coe told BBC Sport: “The message could not be stronger. This is a wake-up call.”

“It is entirely up to Russia to make changes,” Coe added.

The IAAF has stated that "unless ARAF voluntarily accepts a full suspension, the IAAF is entititled to proceed to a full hearing on whether the provisional suspension should be made a full suspension."

To regain membership to the IAAF, ARAF would have to "fulfill a list of criteria," namely go through in inspection conducted by Independent Chair Rune Anderson, an independent international anti-doping expert (Norweigan) and three members of the IAAF Council who will be appointed soon.

In response to the IAAF Council's decision, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said that he is "completely sure" that Russia will be able to compete at the Olympic Games, according to the Associated Press.

"We may miss one or two competitions, but for the athletes with clean consciences to miss the Olympics or a World Championships would be real stupidity," he said.

The right decision, time for serious reform and proud to stand behind our Athlete Commission statement. #cleansport
— Paula Radcliffe (@paulajradcliffe) November 13, 2015

The IAAF council met over teleconference to discuss the decision to provisionally suspend the ARAF after an investigative report was published Monday by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

In the 323-page report titled “The Independent Commission Report #1,” WADA revealed “state-sponsored” systematic doping practices in Russia. Based on their findings, WADA recommended that the IAAF suspend Russia from all international track and field competition.

President Coe, who was named the IAAF leader in August after winning the vote against Sergey Bubka, stated that the whole system has “failed the athletes.”

“Today we have been dealing with the failure of ARAF and made the decision to provisionally suspend them, the toughest sanction we can apply at this time. But we discussed and agreed that the whole system has failed the athletes, not just in Russia, but around the world,” Coe said.

"This has been a shameful wake-up call and we are clear that cheating at any level will not be tolerated. To this end, the IAAF, WADA, the member federations and athletes need to look closely at ourselves, our cultures and our processes to identify where failures exist and be tough in our determination to fix them and rebuild trust in our sport. There can be no more important focus for our sport,” he added.

The IAAF listed the full consequences facing the Russian Federation, which include:

1. Athletes and athlete support personnel from Russia may not compete in international competitions.

2. Russia will not be able to host the 2016 World Race Walking Team Championships and the 2016 World Junior Championships.

Russian athletes are still allowed to participate in domestic competitions.

The IAAF is currently facing its own separate line of investigation as former IAAF President Lamine Diack was arrested last Sunday by French authorities on charges of corruption and money-laundering. He was released on bail on Tuesday, but remains under investigation by French prosecutors. The IAAF offices in Monaco were also raided by the authorities for documentation and to carry out interviews.

Diack is suspected of accepting over $1 million in bribes from Russia to cover up positive drug tests. Diack along with several other IAAF officials are suspected of taking money in 2011 to allow at least six Russian athletes to continue competing. Some even went on to earn medals at the London Olympic Games.

USATF President and IAAF Council Member Stephanie Hightower commented on the IAAF Council’s actions on Friday.

“Council examined this matter very thoughtfully, fully aware of the extraordinary action we ultimately decided to take. The WADA report was clear in its evidence and unequivocal in its recommendations. From Council's perspective, in light of the evidence, suspension was the only proper course of action. The IAAF has an obligation to protect athletes, and this action sends a clear message to clean athletes that protecting them and protecting the sport, with a culture of accountability, is our top priority. It is my hope as a Council member that this process also will spur a review of the IAAF governance structure, and that we will act to implement WADA's recommendations of instituting an ombudsman and compliance officer. Although this is a difficult time, in the long term, the sport ultimately will be stronger for it,” Hightower wrote in a USATF statement.

Prior to the IAAF Council meeting, Russian pole vaulter and world record-holder Yelena Isinbaeva wrote an open letter to the track and field community where she addressed the potential consequences of a team-wide ban for Russian athletics.

"During all my sports career, I did my job honestly; I trained a lot and won World Championships and Olympic Games and set World Records. All my victories are honest, 'clean' and deserved," Isinbaeva wrote.

"I ask you not to treat all the athletes in the same negative way. To ban innocent and not connected to that doping scandal athletes from competing in international events and Olympic Games in Rio is not fair," she continued.

Isinbaeva has won two Olympic gold medals and three World Championship titles in the pole vault.

The IAAF's decision could also impact World Championship hurdler Sergey Shubenkov, who is on the IAAF's long list for the 2015 IAAF World Athlete of the Year. Russia had two World Championship gold medalists in Beijing. Shubenkov, 25, won the 110m hurdles and Mariya Kuchina, 22, won the women's high jump competition in August.

.@serg_shubenkov voted on to long list for 2015 IAAF World Athlete of the Year award More: https://t.co/wlPAvY0eEy pic.twitter.com/sA6xSW8zeN
— IAAF (@iaaforg) November 5, 2015