Russia's athletics federation RUSAF has received 177 applications from its athletes bidding to compete as neutrals on the international stage this year, the TASS news agency said on Saturday.
"As of early January 26, we have received applications from 177 athletes, 161 of them have already been sent to the (ruling body) IAAF," RUSAF spokeswoman Natalia Yukhareva told TASS.
The IAAF has simplified the process for athletes who had neutral status last year, and last week said that 42 Russians have been declared eligible to compete, including two-time reigning high jump world champion Mariya Lasitskene and former 110m hurdles world champion Sergey Shubenkov.
Russian athletes can compete as neutrals since 2017 after RUSAF was suspended by the IAAF in 2015 over doping practices in the country.
These athletes must meet strict criteria such as undergoing regular doping tests outside Russia.
While Russia's anti-doping agency RUSADA has been declared compliant again by the World Anti-Doping Agency WADA, the IAAF will not readmit RUSAF until all conditions in the WADA-RUSADA case have been met.
RUSAF appealed the IAAF decision to uphold the suspension at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but withdrew the appeal Friday in the wake of a WADA decision to uphold RUSADA's compliance status despite a missed deadline for WADA access to Moscow's anti-doping lab.
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