Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE starting June 12 2026

Russia challenges athletics suspension

Russia's athletics federation is challenging the IAAF as the peak athletics body seeks to increase the country's suspension over state-sanctioned doping issues.

Russia's athletics federation said on Wednesday it had filed an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the decision by global athletics body IAAF to prolong its suspension.

The federation was suspended in November 2015 following a report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that found evidence of systematic, state-sponsored doping in the sport.

Federation spokeswoman Natalia Yukhareva told Reuters it had filed an appeal with CAS against the IAAF's decision to extend the federation's suspension at its last council meeting in July.

At the time the IAAF said that Russia had made "significant progress" in meeting criteria for reinstatement, but that its suspension would remain in place until the council convened again in December.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and CAS did not immediately return requests for comment.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

The move comes days after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) conditionally reinstated Russian anti-doping agency RUSADA, angering sports bodies around the globe.

The IAAF said last week that RUSADA's reinstatement fulfilled one of three pre-conditions for the reinstatement of Russia's athletics federation.

For the federation to be reinstated, Russia must acknowledge that officials from the Sports Ministry were involved in doping cover-up schemes.

Russian authorities must also provide access to data from testing samples at the Moscow lab, which was also suspended in the wake of the 2015 scandal.

Despite the federation's suspension, a string of Russian athletes, including 2015 world champion hurdler Sergey Shubenkov, have been cleared to compete internationally after demonstrating they are training in a doping-free environment.


2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world