Russia to stop giving national team spots to track athletes with doping history
The Russian track federation says it will no longer give national team places to some athletes with past doping bans.
The federation said Sunday it won’t select athletes who were given bans since November 2015 for a range of doping and doping-related offences, or who work with a coach who was banned since that date.
The move could be subject to a legal challenge. The Court of Arbitration for Sport has struck down similar national selection rules before if it deems they impose extra punishments on athletes who have served their doping bans.
CAS overturned a British Olympic Association rule in 2012 that athletes previously banned for doping could not be selected for the Olympic team.
The rules come as the Russian federation’s new management tries to mend its relationship with World Athletics. Russia has been suspended from international track competitions since 2015 for widespread doping.
The federation last month formally admitted wrongdoing in a case where fake medical documents were used to give a Russian athlete an alibi for being unavailable for testing. It is facing a $10 million US fine and a cap of 10 athletes for its track team at the next Olympics.
