From Inside the Games
International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board member Nenad Lalovic has called for negotiations to resolve the deadlock surrounding Russia’s efforts to be reinstated by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Lalovic, a WADA Foundation Board member and United World Wrestling President, suggested that a possible solution could be for acceptance of just the IOC-commissioned Schmid report rather than the WADA-run McLaren one to prove enough.
Both the IAAF and WADA have expressed frustration at the lack of progress made by Russia.
It has culminated in the IAAF threatening to take further action in July should steps forward not be taken.
One of the central issues impacting on the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) membership of the IAAF is the reinstatement of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) and acknowledgement of the findings of the Richard McLaren and Samuel Schmid’s reports into doping in the country.
Russian officials have repeatedly said they will not accept the findings, however, leaving RUSADA deadlocked with WADA and in turn the IAAF.
The Serbian official cited how the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) deemed that evidence in the McLaren report was found to be insufficient to establish rule violations against 28 athletes.
“The IOC Session restored the Russian Olympic Committee, but I think it is urgent to continue the fight against doping in Russia and get RUSADA reinstated,” Lalovic told insidethegames.
“There are some conditions they have achieved, but some they have not.
“Some of them for me are difficult to accept, for example the McLaren report.
“They have to accept something that the CAS does not accept.
“It is complicated.
“The Schmid report, that is one thing, but you saw the results at CAS.
“I think only negotiations can deliver results.
“Everybody should be ready to negotiate, otherwise there will be no efficient anti-doping fight in Russia without RUSADA, it is not possible.”
