Russlands Regierung hat wenige Stunden vor der Entscheidung über die Aufrechterhaltung der Sperre gegen seine Athleten den Leichtathletik-Weltverband IAAF um Nachsicht gebeten. Die IAAF solle bei ihrem Urteil die Bemühungen im russischen Anti-Doping-Kampf berücksichtigen.
"Angesichts unserer Bemühungen fordere ich sie auf, die Sperre gegen unsere Athleten zu überdenken", schrieb Sportminister Witali Mutko in einem offenen Brief an IAAF-Präsident Sebastian Coe. Am Freitagnachmittag entscheidet das IAAF-Council über die Aufrechterhaltung der Sperre.
Russische Athleten waren wegen mehrfacher Verstöße gegen die Doping-Richtlinien für alle internationalen Wettkämpfe gesperrt worden. Sollte die IAAF die Sperre aufrecht erhalten, wäre damit wohl auch das Aus der russischen Leichtathleten bei den Olympischen Spielen in Rio (5. bis 21. August) besiegelt.
- Hier der Brief im Wortlaut:
Dear Lord Sebastian Coe,
In anticipation of your decision on June 17 in respect to Russian athletes, I would like to once again assure you that Russia fully supports fighting doping.
However, we firmly believe that clean athletes should not be punished for the actions of others. Russia is doing everything possible to ensure our athletes are a part of clean and fair Olympic Games. In light of our efforts, I urge you to reconsider the ban on our athletes.
Working jointly with WADA and IAAF inspection team, Russia has been reforming its anti-doping program since November 2015:
- Independent Testing - We signed an agreement with Britain's anti-doping agency, UKAD, which is responsible for planning the entire Russian testing program until our national anti-doping program is reaccredited. Samples are taken from athletes by non-Russian experts and analyzed in WADA-accredited labs outside Russia.
- Additional Testing - Russia's athletes will undergo a minimum of three additional anti-doping controls carried out by your federation, the IAAF, before the Rio Games begin. This is over and above all the normal anti-doping tests that athletes receive in qualifying competitions.
- RUSADA Overhaul - We have appointed two full-time WADA experts, who now work at the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), supervising all its activities. These experts are Peter Nicholson, a former criminal investigator from Australia who was a member of the Independent Commission investigating doping in professional cycling; and Ieva Lukosiute-Stanikuniene, the Director of the Lithuanian Anti-Doping Agency and Chair of the Council of Europe Advisory Group on Education.
We have also established a new supervisory board with external, non-sports members to oversee reforms and restore trust in RUSADA. Board members also include an independent international expert from the Council of Europe, Sergey Khrychkov, who was appointed by WADA.
- ARAF Overhaul - We have completely overhauled the ARAF leadership, giving the sport a fresh start.
- New Rules - Russia now also has stricter penalties for doping. We are now introducing a new law, currently in front of the Duma, which will make it a criminal offense for an athlete's coach and entourage to support doping.
- Public Education - We have also begun considerable work to educate people and develop a zero-tolerance stance on doping. The Russian government is introducing lessons on anti-doping as part of the curriculum in its schools in a bid to change the culture of its athletes using banned substances to gain an unfair advantage. Children will be taught from the age of 10 that they should reject any encouragement to cheat to achieve sporting success.
Clean athletes who have dedicated years of their lives to training and who never sought to gain unfair advantage through doping should not be punished for the past actions of other individuals.
Additionally, Russia's athletes must not be singled out as the only ones to be punished for a problem that is widely acknowledged to go far beyond our country's borders.
Russia has done everything that IAAF independent commission has rightly asked of us in order to be reinstated to athletic competition. I hope that after witnessing us institute the changes you demanded, I have given you the reassurance that we should be readmitted.
Vitaly Mutko
Minister of Sport of the Russian Federation