Seven more Russian athletes have been given the green light by the ruling athletics body IAAF to compete as independent neutral athletes at international events, including the world championships in August in London.
The IAAF said on Tuesday that Illia Mudrov (pole vault), Sergey Shubenkov (sprint hurdles), Sergey Shirobokov (race walks), Daniil Tsyplakov (high jump), Maria Kuchina (high jump), Olga Mullina (pole vault), Yana Smerdova (race walks) have been allowed to compete.
The seven were declared eligible by the IAAF Doping Review Board, which has received some 100 applications overall while the Russian athletics federation remains suspended over wide-ranging doping allegations.
Anzhelika Sidorova (pole vault), Kristina Sivkova (sprints) and Aleksei Sokirskii (hammer throw) were allowed earlier this year to compete as 10 athletes have now been approved in 2017 while 17 have been rejected.
Whistleblower and middle-distance runner Yuliya Stepanova and long jumper Darya Klishina were made eligible last year, with Klishina the only Russian to compete in athletics at the Rio Olympics.
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Russian athletes aiming to compete must meet strict guidelines such as regular drug tests by non-Russian organizations such as the IAAF and others recognized by the World Anti-Doping Agency; not being implicated in reports on doping in Russia; and coaches and doctors also not implicated.
