Emmanuel Thomas l Sunday, July 09, 2017
LAUSANNE, Switzerland – The International Association of Athletes Federation ( IAAF) Doping Review Board has approved the applications of 16 Russian athletes to compete as neutral athletes in international competition.
They were approved having met the exceptional eligibility criteria to compete in international competition as neutral athletes under competition Rule 22.1A(b) while the Russian national federation (RusAF) remains suspended, the IAAF said in a statement.
The athletes are Viktor Butenko (discus), Timofey Chalyy (400m hurdles), Danil Danilov (hammer), Olga Eliseeva (race walks – European U20 Championships only), Alexey Fedorov (triple jump), Irina Gemeniuk (triple jump), Irina Gordeeva (high jump), Viacheslav Kolesnichenko (sprints), Alexsandr Lesnoi (shot put) and Konstantin Lyadusov (shot put).
Others are Iuliia Maltseva (discus), Alena Mamina (sprints), Alexsandr Menkov (long jump), Viktoriia Prokopenko (triple jump), Ilya Shkurenev (decathlon) and Valentin Smirnov (middle distance).In addition, the Doping Review Board has extended neutral athlete status for three athletes who have been previously approved to compete at the European U20 Championships.
They are Aksana Gataullina (pole vault), Polina Miller (sprints) and Yana Smerdova (race walks)
The participation of all these athletes 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 organizers, the IAAF said.In total this year 39 applications have been approved, of which nine
are for the forthcoming IAAF World U18 Championships.
IAAF President Sebastian Coe commented: “It is important to reiterate that this review process is about ensuring there is a level playing field in which the world’s clean athletes have confidence. I want to thank once again the members of the Doping Review Board for their continued dedication and diligence in assessing these applications to compete internationally as independent neutral athletes. It’s a huge task and one which cannot be rushed if we are to ensure the rights and aspirations of clean athletes are protected.”
Since publication of updated guidelines under Rule 22.1A(b) earlier this year, the IAAF has received over 150 applications from Russian athletes, more than 50 of which have been endorsed by their national federation RusAF.
A number of these applications remain under review by the Doping Review Board in accordance with the guidelines while stored samples continue to be re-analysed and the athletes referenced in the Independent Person’s report published last December continue to be assessed in consultation with experts.
