Russian Sports Minister Asks IAAF Not to Punish Clean Athletes

© AFP 2023 / CHRISTOPHE SIMONTest event for Rio 2016 Olympic Games, in Rio de Janeiro (File)
Test event for Rio 2016 Olympic Games, in Rio de Janeiro (File) - Sputnik International
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Russia's sports minister sent a letter to the International Association of Athletics Federations president asking him to revise the ban on Russian track and field athletes to participate in the Rio Games.

The Olympic Park of the 2016 Olympics is seen from the air, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, July 4, 2016 - Sputnik International
Russian Track and Field Athletes Banned From Olympic Games in Rio
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian Sport Minister Vitaly Mutko has written a letter to President of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Sebastian Coe acknowledging a severe doping crisis in Russian sports and asking the IAAF to allow the participation of clean Russian athletes in the upcoming Rio Olympics.

"I do fully accept the decisions taken by the IAAF in respect to Russian track-and-field sports. I do acknowledge that they are reasonable and result from a serious management crisis in the Russian Athletic Federation as well as from well-rooted doping problem which goes back to the Soviet era," Mutko wrote in the letter obtained by R-Sport news agency.

"I would like to ask you again, not only as a leader responsible for the development of athletics, but also as a former athlete, to protect clean Russian athletes and allow those who fully meet the criteria established by the International Olympic Committee," Mutko wrote, adding that Russia, in its turn, guarantees full transparency and adherence to the principles of the fight against doping abuses.

The IOC made a decision on Sunday not to ban the entire Russian Olympic team from the participation in the upcoming games in Rio, choosing to leave it to the individual sports federations to decide on athletes' participation. The IOC also banned all Russian athletes with doping record from the games.

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