From Inside the Games
An appeal from Russia to have its suspension by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) lifted failed at the world governing body’s Congress here today, even after the most public apology about the doping scandal which has cast a long shadow over the sport for more than two years.
A total of 166 Member Federations present at the biennial Congress voted to support the recommendation of the IAAF’s ruling Council to maintain the suspension with 21 against.
It was well short of the two-thirds majority that the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) needed to be re-admitted.
The ban has been in place since November 2015 following a report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency which found evidence of state-supported doping.
It has meant that Russia missed last year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and its 19 athletes competing at the IAAF World Championships, due to start in London tomorrow, will have to compete under a neutral banner.
