Russia face tough task in bid to overturn ban

moscow — Dmitry Shlyakhtin, a little-known regional official, landed one of the toughest jobs in sports when he was elected to head Russia’s scandal-ridden athletics federation.

Three months into the job, the 48-year-old bureaucrat is working to overturn a ban by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) over allegations of systematic doping that could see Russian track and field stars sidelined from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August.

While world track and field authorities remain sceptical about the country’s prospect of competing in Rio, Shlyakhtin insisted in an interview with AFP that Moscow is making progress.

“The process has started, maybe not as fast we would have wanted,” Shlyakhtin told AFP. “Of course we have lots to do. But many things are being done.”

Shlyakhtin — a low-profile junior runner whose election came as a surprise to Russia’s athletics world — told Russian media upon his election that there was a “50 to 60 percent” chance the country would see its track and field stars in Rio.

Today he is more optimistic that Russia will take part in the Games but shies away from providing a detailed assessment of the progress made and the work that lies ahead.

“To say which stage we are at now would be biased and wrong,” he added. The current turmoil in Russian athletics was sparked

The process has started, maybe not as fast we would have wanted

Dmitry Shlyakhtin

when a report from a World AntiDoping Agency ( WADA) independent commission published in November laid bare evidence of state-sponsored doping and high-level corruption in sport in the country.

The report alleged that senior ARAF officials enabled the use of performance-enhancing drugs and covered up doping violations, among other damning accusations. To compete at Rio, Russia’s athletics federation must now fulfil the reinstatement requirements set out by the IAAF, including severing its ties with staff with any past involvement in doping, and abide by all WADA regulations.

The IAAF recognised last month that Russia has shown “significant progress” in the wake of its November suspension.

But Rune Andersen, the independent chair of the IAAF Taskforce overseeing the reform process, nonetheless “stressed that there is still considerable work to be done in order to meet the reinstatement conditions,” the IAAF told AFP.

The taskforce is set to make its next visit Moscow later this month before the IAAF holds an extraordinary Council meeting in May. —