World Athletics Coe chief called the right decision to restore VFLA status

The president of the World Athletics Association (World Athletics), Sebastian Coe, believes that the organization has made the right decision in restoring the status of the All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF).

ARAF was stripped of its World Athletics (formerly IAAF) membership in 2015 due to a doping scandal in Russian athletics, Russian athletes were only allowed to compete after being granted neutral status . A task force was created to restore the rights of the ARAF under the leadership of Rune Andersen. On March 23, 2023, the World Athletics Council restored ARAF’s status, but extended the suspension of Russian athletes due to the situation in Ukraine.

– We have decided to restore ARAF’s status by decision of the working group. I’m sure we made the right decision. We work with the ARAF through the IAU (independent organization for the fight against negative phenomena in athletics), we want to ensure that a clear anti-doping system is in place in Russia. I have always adhered to the rule that if our organization makes difficult decisions, they must be justified. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Andersen and his whole group,” Coe said at a press conference.

Earlier Thursday, Coe, who has been chairman of World Athletics since 2015, was re-elected to the post for another four-year term. The elections took place during the organization’s 54th congress in Budapest.