IAAF okays 21 Russians to compete internationally as neutral athletes

LAUSANNE, Switzerland – The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) Doping Review Board  has approved the applications of 21 Russian athletes to compete in international competition as neutral athletes in 2019 under competition Rule 22.1A(b) while the Russian national federation (RusAF) remains suspended.

The application process for athletes seeking neutral status in international competitions in 2019 opened in December 2018, the IAAF said, adding that the Doping Review Board has prioritised, where possible, applications from athletes wishing to compete in the current indoor season.

The Doping Review Board, which is composed of Robert Hersh (chair), Sylvia Barlag and Antti Pihlakoski  accepted the applications of the following athletes. Those approved for the European Indoor Championships are Nikita Andriyanov (high jump), Kirill Chernkhin (sprints), Yana Glotova (400m), Adelina Khalikova (high jump), Valeriya Khramova/Andreeva (400m), Evgeniy Kunts (1500m), Dmitriy Lopin (sprints), Artem Makarenko (combined events), Igor Obratsov (sprints), Mariia Pavlova (combined events), Sergey Polianski (long jump), Elena Sokolova (long jump), Irina Takuntcheva (400m) and Irina Gumeniuk (triple jump)

The rest were approved for the European Throwing Cup. They are Alena Beliakova (discus), Anastasiya Borodulina (hammer), Aleksey Khudyakov (discus), Yevgeniy Korotovskii (hammer), Natalya Pospelova (hammer), Aleksey Sokirskii (hammer) and Polina Sokolova (discus)

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 organisers.

Speaking on the development, IAAF President Sebastian Coe said in 2015 the IAAF Council suspended the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF).

“We put two processes in place at that time. The first was a process by which RusAF could be reinstated. This included a clear set of steps and actions to be overseen by a special taskforce led by Rune Andersen.

“The second was the ANA process which was designed to separate clean athletes from a tainted system, a process which would allow clean athletes from Russia an opportunity to compete in international competition and give all other athletes confidence that athletes granted ANA status had been through an eligibility process. My thanks go to the Doping Review Board and the Athletics Integrity Unit for their diligence and hard work year on year to maintain this process,” he said.