IAAF upholds ban on Russian athletes

By Fatih Erel

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russian athletes will remain banned from international competitions, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said on Monday.

"The IAAF Council announced today that there had been no change in status of the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF)," the association said in a statement.

Rune Andersen, chairman of the IAAF Taskforce, reported two key issues, including receipt of the analytical data and samples from a Moscow lab in order to determine which athletes have a case to answer under IAAF anti-doping rules.

In November 2015, IAAF banned Russia due to evidence of state-sponsored doping.

The application process for Russian athletes seeking neutral status in international competitions in 2019 opened last December.