(ATR) Three Russian track and field athletes are eligible to compete as neutrals according to the International Association of Athletics Federations Doping Review Board.
Pole vaulter Anzhelika Sidorova, sprinter Kristina Sivkova, and hammer thrower Aleksei Sokirskii were approved by the board yesterday according to a release. The athletes’ eligibility still remains in the hands of event organizers, who must approve them as neutral competitors.
The three athletes are the second set of athletes to be cleared by the review board, after Darya Klishina and Yuliya Stepanova were declared eligible to compete in 2016. To be cleared by the board athletes much prove they are not associated with any Russian athlete or coach implicated in the McLaren Reports, have a requisite number of doping control samples taken, and can show they did not avoid any testing by the IAAF or the World Anti-Doping Agency.
IAAF President Sebastian Coe said in a statement that admitting clean Russian athletes as neutral competitors is the goal of the federation to fulfill the hard work of those "failed by their national system".
"While prioritizing applications based upon the entry deadlines of the competitions concerned, the primary responsibility of the Doping Review Board must always be to safeguard the integrity of competition," Coe added.
So far, the IAAF says the review board has received 48 applications to reinstate Russian athletes as neutral competitors. Of those 48 applications, 28 have been endorsed by the All Russian Athletics Federation.
IAAF Adds Vetting Panel
The implementation of the IAAF Vetting Panel is underway, after being approved as part of governance reforms last December.
The panel, consisting of individuals independent of the federation, will oversee all applications of persons to official IAAF positions. The federation said in a release that 37 people were considered for the panel, with Chair Akere Muna, and members Mark Pieth and Don Mackinnon being selected for the panel’s duty.
Muna serves as Independent Sanctions Commissioner for the African Development Bank, Pieth founded the Basel Institute on Governance, who helped with the FIFA governance reforms, and Mackinnon is a lawyer from New Zealand who has worked in governance for various sports federations.
All three individuals will have a mandate until the 2019 IAAF Congress. From there, the federation says at each election congress, taking place every four years, a new panel will be appointed.
Coe said in a statement the formation of the panel was "central to the increased focus" of good governance for the federation.
"This panel...reflects our commitment to ensuring that all IAAF Officials are persons of the highest standards of conduct and integrity."
Coe added "Although disappointed that none of the female candidates kept themselves in for the final round, I am encouraged by the conversations we have had with some of the initial applicants and we will look to expand the panel in the future."
Written by Aaron Bauer
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