World Athletics president Sebastian Coe on Friday said he wants suspended Russia to return as an “accountable and responsible” member federation but is not sure of resolving the country’s doping-related issue in the near future.
Russia was suspended in 2015 after a report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) found evidence of mass doping among track and field athletes.
“I hope it in the foreseeable future, I am not sure, I will use the word ‘near’ as I cannot quantify that (future) but that has to be our ambition,” Coe said when asked if he is hopeful of resolving the Russian doping issue in the near future.
“It’s not a good thing to have a country like Russia sitting outside our sport. I want Russia to be back as a fully functioning member federation with accountability and responsibility that every other member federation accepts,” Coe said in an interaction with PTI.
The Russian federation paid a multi-million-dollar fine in August to avoid expulsion by World Athletics.
Testing of athletes
Asked how difficult was dope testing of athletes during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Coe said, “We are continuing (testing of athletes) though it is challenging. There are travel restrictions...logistical challenges getting to the athletes.
“But we have continued our testing processes. The nature of testing has changed, now it is intelligence-led, it is incremental and sequential.
“We know who, how and where the challenges are.”
