Three more Russians have had their applications to compete in international competition as neutral athletes approved by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Doping Review Board.
The 400m runner Kseniya Aksyonova, javelin thrower Vera Rebrik and 400m hurdler Vera Rudakova met the “exceptional eligibility criteria” to compete while the Russian national federation, RusAF, remains suspended, the IAAF said.
“Their participation as neutral athletes in international competition is still subject to formalities for eligibility under IAAF Rules being completed and subject to acceptance of their entries by individual meeting organisers,” read a statement from the IAAF in part.
The suspension of RusAF has been in place since November 2015. A rule allowing Russian athletes to apply to compete internationally was first announced by the IAAF last June and the IAAF updated its guidelines which allow Russians to apply to compete as neutral athletes earlier this year.
The sport’s world governing body also announced on Wednesday (May 31) that of the 58 cases to have been reviewed by the Doping Review Board on this occasion, 28 were declined and 27 remain under review.
Nine of the 27 cases under review involve athletes seeking neutral athlete status to compete at the World U18 Championships in Nairobi in July. “They will be subject to further testing by the IAAF and/or UKAD between now and Nairobi to determine their eligibility for the championships,” said the IAAF.
IAAF president Seb Coe commented: “I’m grateful to the members of the Doping Review Board for the dedication and diligence they are giving to this on-going review process.
“The importance of this huge task should not be underestimated.
“There can be no time constraints or deadlines when the protection of clean athletes everywhere is at stake.”
Sergey Shubenkov and Maria Kuchina (now Maria Lasitskene) were among seven Russian athletes cleared to compete internationally by the IAAF Doping Review Board in April.
Source: AW
