UPDATED - Russian Track and Field Athletes Barred from Rio

(ATR) The IAAF ban preventing Russian track and field athletes from participating at the Rio Olympics will not be lifted.

The decision, reached today at an IAAF Council meeting in Vienna, came after much debate. In fact, the meeting ran so long it delayed a planned press conference by over an hour.

In the end, the decision to maintain the ban was based on Russia's failure to meet the required criteria for readmission set forth in November.

"Although good progress has been made the IAAF council was unanimous that RUSAF had not met the regulations and cannot credibly return to international competition," IAAF president Sebastian Coe said.

The All-Russian Athletic Federation (RUSAF) was suspended from international competition in November by the IAAF after an independent commission for the World Anti-Doping Agency detailed systemic problems with Russian anti-doping efforts.

Coe and his colleagues based their decision around the final report of the task force on Russian doping led by Rune Andersen.

Andersen said that although some progress had been made there is still much work to do, noting it may be another two years before RUSAF is able to return to international competition.

"The deep seated culture of tolerance - or worse - the doping that got RUSAF suspended in the first place seems to not have changed materially to this date," Anderson told reporters. "Many of the officials and athletes seem unwilling to acknowledge the nature and extent of the doping practices in the country."

Russia's Ministry of Sport, in a statement, said "We are extremely disappointed by the IAAF’s decision to uphold the ban on all of our track and field athletes, creating the unprecedented situation of a whole nation’s track and field athletes being banned from the Olympics.

"We have done everything possible since the ban was first imposed to regain the trust of the international community. We have rebuilt our anti-doping institutions which are being led by respected international experts. Our athletes are being tested by the UK’s anti-doping agency, UKAD, and every one of them is undergoing a minimum of three tests in addition to the usual requirements. We have nothing to hide and feel we had met the IAAF’s conditions for re-entry.

"We now appeal to the members of the International Olympic Committee to not only consider the impact that our athletes’ exclusion will have on their dreams and the people of Russia, but also that the Olympics themselves will be diminished by their absence. The Games are supposed to be a source of unity, and we hope that they remain as a way of bringing people together."

Yelena Isenbayeva, a two-time Olympic pole vault champion, is telling TASS that she believes the IAAF's decision is a violation of human rights and that she will turn to a human rights court to prove that the IAAF and WADA have made the wrong decision.

Claudia Bokel, Chair of the IOC Athlete Commission, and Beckie Scott, Chair of the WADA Athlete Committee,are applauding the IAAF decision.

In a joint statement, they said "We hold this decision as symbolic that the voices of the clean athletes have been heard.

"We recognize that this decision is only one step in the process of ensuring that the Rio Olympic Games will have a level playing field. But, we are heartened to see that the facts as presented by WADA and the IAAF task force have been considered thoroughly, and that the evidence has lead the IAAF to make decisions based on integrity - maintaining clean sport as a central policy."

All may not be lost for some of the banned Russian athletes, however. Anderson says there's a "very tiny crack in the door" for Russian athletes to participate in the Games.

The IAAF will allow Russian athletes who have proven themselves clean through a testing regime outside of Russia to participate in Rio under a neutral flag.

It is unclear whether this small loophole will be enough for the IOC, which says it"has taken note of the decision of the IAAF Council' and that the "IOC Executive Board will discuss the appropriate next steps in a telephone conference tomorrow."

The IOC has called a meeting of Olympic Movement stakeholders on June 21 in Lausanne to address the eligibility issue.

IOC president Thomas Bach has spoken in recent weeks about "a decision we have to make between collective responsibility and individual justice", signaling a reluctance to ban the entire Russian athletics team from Rio.

Written by Gerard Farek

For general comments or questions,click here.

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.