Russia Taskforce Report to Council Meeting of 10 March 2022 / Rune Andersen. - Monaco : World Athletics, 2022

The Council approved three recommendations from the Russia Taskforce in regard to the Russian reinstatement process.

Taskforce chairman Rune Andersen acknowledged that the Russian invasion of Ukraine had “cast a shadow” over the whole of Russia, including sport. But the Taskforce recommended that the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) reinstatement process should continue, to avoid the “very real risk” that RusAF would revert to past doping practices if the process was suspended now.

“Such a loss and backsliding would undermine that cultural change that RusAF has been cultivating and ultimately be detrimental to the interests of clean Russian athletes, the athletes in other countries with whom they compete, and therefore the integrity of future international competitions,” Andersen’s report explains.

Andersen told the Council that RusAF had made significant progress in many areas described in the roadmap, but that it was not yet fit for reinstatement.

Concerns remained around the leadership of RUSADA, Russia’s national anti-doping agency, and the fact that RusAF had not yet paid the reinstatement costs incurred by World Athletics for the third and fourth quarters of 2021.

Andersen warned that if payment was not made as a matter of urgency, this would be regarded as a breach of the reinstatement conditions and would lead to action against RusAF, which could include a suspension of the reinstatement process.

He further acknowledged that restricted travel, due to the invasion, would create challenges for the Taskforce in its oversight and monitoring role, which could lead to changes in the way it operates.

The Council accepted the following recommendations from the Taskforce:

1. The Taskforce continues its oversight and monitoring of RusAF’s implementation of the Reinstatement Plan and KPIs, guided to the extent possible in current circumstances by the international experts. The Taskforce shall report on its work to Council at its next meeting in July 2022 or, if required, earlier.
2. The Taskforce meet with RusAF to discuss progress against the Reinstatement Plan based on the KPIs, to assess and, if necessary, update the Reinstatement Plan and the KPIs, and possibly discuss and/or agree a specific timeline for consideration of reinstatement.
3. The Taskforce review the Post-Reinstatement Conditions including the RusAF’s feedback on them and present them to the Council at its next meeting in July 2022 for approval and/or discussion, as the Taskforce deems appropriate at that time.

Andersen cautioned that presenting the post-reinstatement conditions to Council for approval in July did not mean that the Taskforce would recommend RusAF be reinstated at that time. He said any consideration of reinstatement would be “subject to further discussions”.

Russia Taskforce Report to Council Meeting of 14 July 2022 / Rune Andersen. - Monaco : World Athletics, 2022

Following an update from the Russian Taskforce, the Council approved the recommendation that an independent audit of RusAF’s processes and progress against the reinstatement plan and KPIs should be conducted mid to late October 2022.

The Taskforce will also continue its oversight and monitoring of RusAF’s implementation of the reinstatement plan, and report on the outcome of the audit at the next Council Meeting in November 2022.

Russia Taskforce Report to Council Meeting of 18 March 2021 / Rune Andersen. - Monaco : World Athletics, 2021

The World Athletics Council has approved the reinstatement of the Authorised Neutral Athlete (ANA) programme for clean athletes from Russia, which will commence in time for the 2021 outdoor competition season.

The Russian Taskforce Report, with two amendments from the Council which are listed below, states that for the remainder of 2021, no more than 10 Russian athletes will be granted eligibility to compete as ANA athletes at any championship competition, including the Tokyo Olympic Games, World Athletics Series events and the 2021 European U23 Championships.

The Russian Federation (RusAF) may choose which 10 athletes are able to compete from those who have been granted ANA status, but it must prioritise the selection of athletes who are in the International Registered Testing Pool.

There is no cap on the number of Russian athletes who may compete at other international competitions, provided they have ANA status.

Russian athletes in the under 15 age group may continue to compete in under 15 international competitions as neutral athletes without applying to the Doping Review Board.

However, these provisions may be revoked at any time if World Athletics’ Russia Taskforce advises that satisfactory progress is not being made against the milestones and Key Performance Indicators set out in the Reinstatement Plan.

The World Athletics Council will review the ANA programme at its final meeting in 2021 to determine if it should be renewed or revised for international competition in 2022.

The RusAF Reinstatement Plan was approved by the Council on 1 March and Taskforce Chair Rune Andersen said in his report to the Council that “strong pressure needs to be maintained to ensure that RusAF’s stakeholders remain incentivised to back RusAF management in their implementation of the plan”.

He added that “the Taskforce strongly sympathises with clean Russian athletes who continue to miss out on participation in international competitions while the work towards reinstatement of RusAF continues”.

The Council also agreed that the decision made in July 2020 to propose that Congress expels RusAF from memberships of World Athletics, will be reactivated if RusAF does not continue to pay the full costs of the reinstatement process and/or does not make satisfactory progress against the Reinstatement Plan.

Andersen said the Taskforce would continue to monitor RusAF’s progress carefully.

Russia Taskforce Report to Council Meeting of 2 December 2020 / Rune Andersen. - Monaco : World Athletics, 2020

The chair of the Russian Taskforce Rune Andersen reported on 2 December 2020 that there has been progress on the part of the Russian Federation in developing a meaningful Reinstatement Plan to drive the cultural change required for Russia to return to full international membership of the sport.

Andersen said that a foundation had been laid in recent months for the new RusAF leadership, which was elected on Monday, to put an appropriate plan in place by the deadline of 1 March 2021.

The two independent experts appointed by World Athletics to work with RusAF are Margarita Pakhnotskaya, the former deputy Director-General of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency RUSADA, and Vladas Stankevicius, a Russian-speaking change management professional, lawyer and ethics and compliance expert. Former World Anti-Doping Agency international expert Peter Nicholson will support the other two experts remotely.

Andersen confirmed that he had an “open and constructive” first discussion with the new RusAF President Piotr Ivanov and requested that Ivanov work closely with the international experts to move the plan forward.

The Council approved revised terms of reference for the Taskforce to reflect these recent developments.

RusAF must meet the deadline of 1 March 2021 and continue to pay the costs associated with the reinstatement process or the Council decision from July this year – to propose that Congress expels RusAF from membership of World Athletics – will come into effect.

The Council will consider whether to allow Russian athletes to compete again as Authorised Neutral Athletes in international competitions (including allowing up to 10 ANAs to participate in World Athletics Series events and the Tokyo Olympic Games) at its next meeting, in March 2021, or earlier if the Taskforce so recommends, based on the progress made by RusAF to that date.

Russia Taskforce Report to Council Meeting of 17 November 2021 / Rune Andersen. - Monaco : World Athletics, 2021

Chair of the Russia Taskforce, Rune Anderson, presented the Taskforce’s latest report before the Congress vote on 17 November 2021.

The World Athletics Congress has approved the World Athletics Council’s recommendation that the Russian Federation continues to be suspended while the Council oversees completion of the Russian reinstatement plan.

Russia Taskforce Report to Council Meeting of 22 November 2019 / Rune Andersen. - Monaco : World Athletics, 2019

RusAF reinstatement process suspended

The World Athletics Council announced that the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) reinstatement process has been suspended, pending the resolution of the recent charges brought by the Athletics Integrity Unit.

On Thursday 21 November 2019, the AIU charged RusAF with obstructing an investigation and provisionally suspended several senior federation officials for tampering and complicity.

The Taskforce, chaired by Rune Andersen, made the following recommendations that were approved by the Council:

• Council immediately suspends the RusAF reinstatement process, pending resolution of the AIU’s charges.
• Council mandates the members of the Taskforce and the Doping Review Board to review the ‘Authorised Neutral Athlete’ (ANA) mechanism that Council put in place in June 2016, and to make recommendations to Council as to whether that mechanism can and should continue to be used given the recent developments, and in what form. Any ANA applications received in the interim to be held in abeyance pending such review.
• Council mandates the Taskforce to make recommendations to Council as to the sanctions that Council should impose on RusAF if it is determined that RusAF has breached its obligations under the anti-doping rules, and whether Congress should be asked to consider the expulsion of RusAF from membership of World Athletics.

Russia Taskforce Report to Council Meeting of 28 July 2021 / Rune Andersen. - Monaco : World Athletics, 2021

In its report to the Council, the Russia Taskforce confirmed that the suspended Russian Federation (RusAF) was making satisfactory progress against the milestones and KPIs set out in the Reinstatement Plan and had paid the latest invoice of US$431,848 for the reinstatement costs incurred by World Athletics in the quarter ending 31 March 2021. 

The Taskforce is hopeful that, under the guidance of Acting President Irina Privalova, and with the assistance of the three international experts appointed to assist in the Reinstatement Plan, RusAF will continue to meet the remaining milestones and KPIs to satisfy all of the conditions set for its reinstatement to membership of World Athletics.

Consequently, the Council resolved that the Authorised Neutral Athlete (ANA) process would remain in effect and that the Council would consider in November whether the ANA quota of 10 athletes that applied to certain competitions in 2021 should be maintained or revised for competitions staged in 2022.

It further decided that the status of RusAF’s membership would be put on the agenda for the 53rd World Athletics Congress to be held in November, where the congress will be asked to vote on the following resolution:

Congress resolves, in exercise of its powers under Article 13.7 of the World Athletics Constitution, that the suspension of RusAF’s membership of World Athletics will continue until Council decides that all of the conditions set by Council from time to time for the revocation of RusAF’s suspension and the consequent reinstatement of RusAF’s membership have been met.

However the Taskforce warned that if RusAF stopped making satisfactory progress against the KPIs and milestones in the Reinstatement Plan, or failed to reimburse World Athletics' reinstatement costs on a timely basis in this period, it would recommend that the Council withdraw the proposed resolution to Congress, and propose instead that Congress resolves to expel RusAF from membership with immediate effect. The Taskforce trusts that this will not be necessary.

Russia Taskforce Report to Council Meeting of 30 July 2020 / Rune Andersen. - Monaco : World Athletics, 2020

The World Athletics Council decided on 30 July 2020 to expel the Russian Federation (RusAF) from membership of World Athletics if it does not make the outstanding payments of a $US5 million fine and $US1.31 million in costs before 15 August.

The Council, meeting by teleconference due to the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic, agreed to follow the recommendations of the Taskforce, delivered by chairperson Rune Andersen in his Russia Taskforce Report.

Addressing the Council, Andersen expressed his disappointment that the Taskforce had seen “very little in terms of changing the culture of Russian athletics” in the past five years.

He said the Taskforce had spent “an enormous amount of time and effort trying to help RusAF reform itself and Russian athletics, for the benefit of all clean Russian athletes” but the response from RusAF had been inadequate.

In light of a letter sent to World Athletics by the Russian Minister of Sport Oleg Matytsin today, which promises payment of the overdue amounts by August 15, the Taskforce’s recommendations were:

Expulsion Decision

1. To recommend to Congress that it resolves to expel RusAf from membership of World Athletics, in accordance with Article 14.1 of the Constitution, on the basis that the matters that led Congress to suspend RusAF from membership pursuant to Article 13.7 have not been satisfactorily addressed.
2. To recommend that a Special Congress meeting be convened as soon as possible to allow Congress to consider and vote on the proposal to expel RusAF. In the circumstances of the ongoing and worsening pandemic, that Special Congress meeting should if possible be held virtually, to avoid delay.
3. That pending Congress’s decision, the “Neutral Athlete” mechanism will not be made available to Russian athletes.

This decision is suspended, but will come into effect immediately and automatically if any of the following conditions are not met:

1. Payment in full of the two outstanding RusAF invoices to be received on or before close of business in Monaco on 15 August 2020.
2. The RusAF Reinstatement Commission to provide the draft plan referenced in the third paragraph of Council’s decision of 12 March 2020 – of suitable scope and depth, with an implementation plan and progress indicators – to the Taskforce on or before 31 August 2020.
3. Any changes required by the Taskforce to the draft plan to be incorporated to the Taskforce’s satisfaction on or before 30 September 2020.
4. The Plan to be brought into effect and satisfactory progress achieved against the plan (as determined by the Taskforce, based on the input of the international experts appointed by World Athletics), as reported by the Taskforce to Council at each of its subsequent meetings.

In relation to Authorised Neutral Athletes (ANAs):

1. Athletes may apply for ANA status for 2020 competitions in accordance with the process specified by the Doping Review Board.
2. No ANA status will be granted to any athlete for 2020 competitions unless and until conditions (1) to (3)  above are met.
3. If conditions (1) to (3) are met, then in accordance with Council’s March decision, (1) no more than ten athletes (in total, not perevent) will be granted ANA status for World Athletics Series events. (The ony such event scheduled for 2020 is the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia); (2) there is no cap on ANAs for other international competitions in 2020.
4. Council’s March 2020 decision to allow up to 10 Authorised Neutral Athletics for World Athletics Series events and the Tokyo Olympics will be reviewed no earlier than December 2020, based on an assessment of the progress made by RusAF against the reinstatement plan.

Background Note: The Council decided in March to sanction RusAF’s admitted breaches of the Anti-Doping Rules during the Lysenko investigation with a $US10 million fine, with $5 million to be paid by 1 July 2020 and the other $5 million suspended. The Council also required RusAF to pay related costs by 1 July 2020.

Russia Taskforce Report to Council Meeting of 30 November 2022 / Rune Andersen. - Monaco : World Athletics, 2022

World Athletics’ Russia Taskforce expects to be in a position to make a final recommendation to the World Athletics Council on the reinstatement of the Russian Federation (RusAF) at the next Council Meeting in March 2023, provided RusAF continues to make progress in reforming its culture, Taskforce Chair Rune Andersen told the Council.

However he acknowledged that RusAF’s progress on its reinstatement plan would have no bearing on any Council decision on RusAF’s status arising from the war in Ukraine.

In presenting his regular report to the Council, Andersen said that the RusAF leadership team had “embedded a new culture of good governance and zero tolerance for doping throughout the organisation” under Acting President Irina Privalova.

He noted that RusAF is reporting historic anti-doping rule violations uncovered in the Moscow Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), is delivering anti-doping education for 13,000 young athletes, has developed a test distribution plan that includes more than 2000 domestic tests of Russian athletes per year (most out of competition), and is taking other initiatives, including fining government-funded athletes for any single whereabouts violations.

But Andersen said that widespread and sustainable cultural change would likely take many years to embed and would proceed at different paces in different parts of the system. He expressed concern around the decision of the RUSADA disciplinary commission not to publish its findings in the case of the ice-skater Kamily Valieva.

He said the close monitoring and oversight of RusAF’s operations would not end when its suspension from membership of World Athletics was lifted, but this function would be taken over by the Athletics Integrity Unit, which would enforce a detailed set of Post-Reinstatement Conditions, more stringent than those currently imposed on “Category A” federations (those regarded as most at risk of major doping issues).

These conditions would be finalised with the AIU over the coming months and would be presented to the Council for approval before the Taskforce made its final recommendation on reinstatement.

The Taskforce would also recommend that, to prevent backsliding or interference, any material breach of the Post-Reinstatement Conditions should trigger a Council proposal to Congress to expel RusAF permanently from membership of World Athletics.

Russia Taskforce Report to Council Meeting of 23 March 2023 / Rune Andersen. - Monaco : World Athletics, 2023

The World Atletics Council approved the Russia Taskforce’s recommendation that RusAF, which has been suspended for seven years due to doping, be reinstated after meeting all the requirements of the Reinstatement plan, which has been confirmed by an independent audit.

However RusAF will be required to comply with a set of 35 'Special Conditions' that are intended to ensure that RusAf’s anti-doping reforms remain in place and continue to operate effectively.

These Special Conditions are designed to enable the Athletics Integrity Unit to monitor, evaluate, communicate, mentor, oversee, and assist RusAF and its external stakeholders to ensure they maintain good governance practices and to protect RusAF from external pressures and attempts to influence or control its functioning.

They focus on four areas: organisational good governance, protection from inappropriate external influence and control, operational capability and capacity (with a particular emphasis on ethical and anti-doping requirements, and change in the regions), and budget allocation and fiscal management.

These Special Conditions are intended be applied for a period of three years, with a review at the end of that period to determine whether or not it is necessary to maintain those conditions (as they are or with variations) for a further period.

Totalling 35 separate monitoring and evaluation measures, the special conditions cover: organisational governance, presidium leadership oversight, anti-doping, cultural change in the regions, engagement with extTaskforce Report to the Councilernal stakeholders, ethics, anti-corruption and anti-conflicts of interest, fiscal management.

Further, the Athletics Integrity Unit, has determined that RusAF should be categorised as a Category ‘A’ member federation after its reinstatement.

That means that RusAF will have to comply not only with the general obligations applicable to all member federations that are set out in WA ADR 15.4 but also with the special obligations applicable to Category ‘A’ member federations that are set out in WA ADR 15.5. These federations are subject to greater scrutiny and more testing requirements.

The Taskforce confirmed that RusAF has paid all of the costs of the reinstatement process until the end of 2022. World Athletics will invoice RusAF in early April for the costs incurred by World Athletics in January-March, and the prompt payment of that invoice will be one of the Special Conditions.

RusAF must also pay all of the costs incurred by the AIU in overseeing RusAF’s compliance with the Category A requirements and the Special Conditions over the next three years, as well as any World Athletics costs in connection with this oversight.

As a consequence of these decisions, the Authorised Neutral Athlete (ANA) programme will be discontinued, and the Doping Review Board, which rules on ANA applications, will be stood down.

The Russia Taskforce, having completed its work, will be disbanded and the two international experts who have advised it will be stood down.