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The World Athletics Council has recommended to their Congress to extend the suspension of the All-Russia Athletics Federation (RusAF). They are making the request on the premise that all reinstatement requirements have not been met.
During a World Athletics Congress meeting on Wednesday, Sebastion Coe spoke about the extension. The president of World Athletics said the organisation’s Council recommended during the 53rd Congress “to maintain the suspension of RusAF’s membership until all the agreed conditions are implemented.”
RusAF has been suspended since 2015 for systematic doping, malfeasance, manipulation of data, samples, and more.
The Council in Nov. 2019 extended the suspension of RusAF. The extension was because of charges laid by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU). According to World Athletics, the AIU charged RusAF on November 21, 2019 as they dragged out the requirement of the implementation process.
There has been a myriad of Keystone Cops-like fumbles and failures by the once-mighty Russian sports machine since 2015.
Chaos in Russia continues to hemorrhage officials and athletes as doping and tampering dominate the Russian sporting world.
Read: Five Russian officials suspended
Read: Follow the Danil Lysenko debacle
Read: Russian embezzlement case
However, the Russians arrogantly continue to be present with a maximum number of so-called “neutral athletes” permitted to compete at international events.
335 Russians in Tokyo
A number of athletes from various countries are unable to compete in the Tokyo Olympic Games starting on July 23. Meanwhile, suspended Russia is sending a delegation of 335 athletes and coaches. Some athletes are competing under a neutral flag.
With a sprinter suspended for smoking marijuana, at one end of the spectrum and at the other, a banned nation gets to send one of the largest delegations, neutral or otherwise, is wrong.
