Russia to remain banned from international athletics competition, say IAAF
By Andy Charles
Last Updated: 01/12/16 6:27pm
Russia's ban from international athletics competition is to remain in place, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has confirmed.
Russia's athletes were banned from competing in the 2016 Rio Olympics after the nation was found to have been engaged in state-sponsored doping in an independent report authored by Richard McLaren.
They were first suspended in November 2015 and the ban was extended twice - in March and June this year - to rule their participants out of the summer spectacular.
The IAAF Council, voting under the presidency of Sebastian Coe, was unanimous in its decision to uphold the suspension despite Russia's President Vladimir Putin recently approving a law making sports doping a criminal offence.
Norwegian Rune Andersen, the head of the IAAF Taskforce, said the Russian Athletics Federations (RusAF) had "made further progress" but still has more to prove.
The Taskforce will be back in Russia in January to "assess the response to McLaren's final report due on December 9." and Andersen will report back to the IAAF Council in February.
"At that time it hopes to be able to identify a clear roadmap and timetable for RusAF's reinstatement," Andersen said.
