Admission is at your own expense: what changes the lifting of doping sanctions against Russian athletes?

The Council of the World Athletics Association (World Athletics) has completely lifted doping sanctions from the All-Russian Athletics Federation (VFLA) after almost eight years of restrictions and a subsequent three-year monitoring period. However, the political ban on the participation of Russian athletes due to the events in Ukraine remains in force — Russians still cannot perform on the international stage, even in a neutral status under the auspices of the organization.

Until further notice

Since November 2015, the VFLA has been suspended from membership in World Athletics in connection with the doping scandal. In March 2023, the world association decided to reinstate the Russian organization, but continued monitoring its activities under the 34-point special conditions program for another three years.

The sanctions have now been officially lifted, said Mikhail Degtyarev, Minister of Sports and head of the Russian Olympic Committee.

"The VFLA has passed a three-year quarantine. All 34 strategic conditions and operational requirements have been fulfilled, new management standards have been introduced, anti-doping work has been restructured, and regional structures have been updated. The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) and independent experts noted the progress throughout the period and made a final assessment — full compliance and exceeding the set standards," the minister wrote in his Telegram channel.

He noted that under the leadership of the chairman of the VFLA, Peter Fradkov, the federation demonstrates sustainable development.

"The management model has been strengthened, transparency has been increased, financial stability has increased, the regional network has been expanded, and anti—doping control indicators have been improved," Degtyarev emphasized.

A constant and close dialogue with World Athletics is one of the strategic focuses of the new federation team, Fradkov noted.

"The impeccable adherence to all agreements clearly demonstrates our openness and willingness to cooperate constructively. We continue to cooperate with World Athletics on the issue of the return of Russian athletes to the world stage, and there are positive signals. We are exploring all options for the development of events and are continuing our conversation with Sebastian Coe (president of World Athletics) on the issue of the full recovery of Russian athletes," he wrote on the VFL Telegram channel.

The effect of lifting restrictions is already noticeable: World Athletics has expanded the representation of Russian athletes in the international testing pool. After a sharp reduction in early January, there were only five of our compatriots, and now there are 39. Being in the global anti-doping system is necessary to obtain a neutral status.

Why is the status only neutral? Athletes, officials and staff from Russia and Belarus are still suspended from competitions under the auspices of the organization due to the events in Ukraine. This decision remains in force until further notice.

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Coe's position

The recovery of our athletics after the doping scandal turned out to be extremely lengthy. The implementation of the plan to restore the VFLA's membership in World Athletics since 2015 has been supervised by a working group led by Norwegian Rune Andersen. When it seemed that the return was near, new scandalous cases surfaced. One of the most high—profile cases, the fake certificate of high jumper Danil Lysenko, broke out in 2018. The athlete was then suspended for missing doping tests, the federation received a multimillion-dollar fine, and the leadership resigned.

In total, the suspension of the VFLA was extended more than 15 times, but gradually the disputed issues were resolved. In November 2022, Andersen, in his report, positively assessed the federation's fulfillment of the necessary conditions for recovery, and in the spring of next year, World Athletics made a positive decision for Russia.

"The board has agreed to reinstate the VFLA after a seven—year suspension," Sebastian Coe said in a World Athletics press release. — However, athletes, officials and staff from Russia and Belarus are still suspended from competitions for the foreseeable future due to the events in Ukraine. I thank Rune Andersen and the entire working group for the hard work they have done over the past seven years. I hope that now there will be no doubt in Russian athletics when athletes from this country start competing again."

As for political suspension, World Athletics is not in a hurry here. Despite the recommendations of the IOC to allow our juniors to compete with the flag and anthem, as well as the successful experience of Russians performing with national symbols at the 2026 Paralympics, there is still no progress in lifting restrictions. This largely negates the success in the settlement of doping claims. At the moment, athletics is one of the few Olympic sports (along with biathlon) that has maintained a total ban on Russian athletes since 2022.

It was in athletics that the neutral status mechanism was first introduced — performances without national symbols. The possibility of his recovery has been discussed for several years, but due to the position of the World Athletics leadership, the issue has been constantly postponed.

There are fewer and fewer formal reasons to maintain sanctions, but this does not make it easier for athletes. Thanks to Coe's efforts, there has already been a whole generation of athletes in our country who, having no doping problems, never got the opportunity to try themselves internationally.

"The Federation has done a great job over these three years," said Olympic champion and member of the Executive Committee of the VFLA Irina Privalova. — If we evaluate the country's sports federations by key parameters — the organization of competitions, anti—doping activities, and the testing system - our structure is one of the most effective today. I am an optimist by nature and I hope that the day is not far off when we will see our team on the international stage again.

Russian track and field athletes last competed at the Summer Olympic Games in London in 2012. After that, due to doping scandals and the suspension of the VFL, participation was limited: in 2016 — an almost complete ban, in 2020 (in Tokyo-2021) and 2024 - in the status of neutral athletes (ANA) in a very small squad.