Russia’s Olympic committee has said it would lead efforts to reform Russian athletics, with the sport’s head saying he is prepared to resign as a doping scandal threatened to cost Russia its place at the 2016 Olympics.
The International Association of Athletics Federations voted overwhelmingly on Friday to suspend the Russian Athletics Federation for widespread and state-sponsored doping.
“The Russian Olympic Committee is ready to take the initiative to reform the ARAF federation and bring it in line with the requirements of the IAAF and anti-doping legislation,” the ROC head, Alexander Zhukov, was quoted as saying by the R-Sport news agency on Saturday.
“This must be done efficiently and as soon as possible to ensure that our athletes participate in the Olympic Games.”
Vadim Zelichenok, the acting head of the ARAF, said the IAAF ban was harsh but that he was prepared to resign to help Russian athletics recover from the scandal, Russian news agencies reported.
“I believe the IAAF council made a decision which was too severe,” Zelichenok was quoted as saying.
But other Russian officials said the suspension would be quickly resolved and hinted that they might launch an appealat the court of arbitration for sport in Lausanne.
“It is a predictable and understandable decision,” the Russian sports minister, Vitaly Mutko, told R-Sport of the IAAF decision. “We need to understand what they want and where they see threats. We will develop a joint road map and try do it quickly. I think we can do all the work in two to three months.”
ARAF’s general-secretary, Mikhail Butov, told R-Sport: “If there is something that doesn’t satisfy us, then there is sense in talking about an appeal … I am sure that Russia will go to the Olympic Games.”
Mutko and ARAF members will meet for emergency talks on Sunday, Tass news agency reported.
Russia is one of the superpowers in world athletics and finished second behind the US in the track and field medal count at the London Olympics in 2012.
President Vladimir Putin has used sporting successes to promote his image of Russia as a resurgent global power, portraying the winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014 as a symbol of a newly confident nation.
Following the IAAF council meeting, Russia is being stripped of hosting next year’s world junior championships and world race walking cup. The first competition to be affected by the ban is the European cross-country championships in France on 13 December
After a three-hour teleconference on Friday, hosted by its president, Lord Coe, the IAAF council voted 22-1 in favour of suspending Russia.
The meeting had been called to discuss Monday’s report by the independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada). It recommended the punishment, which is unprecedented for doping offences.
The report alleged systemic collusion between Russian athletes and both the country’s federation and anti-doping authorities, and that there was a deeply rooted culture of cheating that enabled athletes to take performance-enhancing drugs without fear of being tested.
The report recommended suspending the Russian federation until a new framework was in place.
“We will get the change we want and only then will Russian athletes return to international competition,” Coe told reporters after Friday’s call. “But we discussed and agreed that the whole system has failed the athletes, not just in Russia, but around the world.”
Asked if Russia would be able to make the required changes in time to return for the Olympics, Coe said: “It is entirely up to the Russian federation. Our verification team will be tough and will want to make sure that before there is a reintroduction to the sport for their athletes and the federation those changes have taken place.”
The main athletics events in 2016 are the world indoor championships, the European athletics championships and the Olympics.
