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no sanction against Russia before March 2023, Kenya is not worried

Russia will not be reinstated until March 2023.

The World Athletics Council will make a decision on Russia’s doping-related reinstatement in March 2023, and has not issued a sanction for the Kenyan federation, despite the numerous positive cases revealed in 2022, the body said on Wednesday.

Suspended since November 2015 following a major doping scandal, the Russian athletics federation could be reinstated in March 2023, when the taskforce responsible for evaluating its progress in the fight against doping will make its final report to the World Athletics Council.

The decision, however, will onlyno impacton the suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes linked to the war in Ukraine. “The distinction is clear“, stressed the president of the body Sebastian Coe during a press conference.

«A few questions remain to be resolved before March, we sincerely hope that everything will be resolved“, explained the head of the taskforce, Rune Andersen, who welcomed the “culture change» and the practices of «good governancewithin the Russian Athletics Federation.

Mined by more than 25 doping cases in 2022, Kenya has also escaped a sanction, Sebastian Coe revealing the Kenyan government’s promise of investments of five million dollars a year for five years to finance anti-doping (tests, staff, surveys).

«The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) continues to work hand in hand with the Kenyan Federation. on the anti-doping aspect, added Mr. Coe. “Returning trust to the system will take a long time, but all actors, local and international, are aligned to solve this problem

Kenya has been classified since 2016 as Category A (most at risk) on the World Athletics and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Watch List. Among the athletes sanctioned in 2022 are Diana Kipyokei, winner of the 2021 Boston Marathon, and Mark Kangogo, the forfeited winner of the famous Sierre-Zinal trail in August.

The International Athletics Federation has also awarded the organization of the 2024 World Relays to the Bahamas, which will qualify for the Paris-2024 Olympic Games.

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