RUSSIA TASKFORCE REPORT TO COUNCIL MEETING OF 30 JULY 2020
I am pleased to present the following report to the World Athletics Council on behalf ofthe Russia Taskforce:1.

At its meeting in March, Council made two decisions in relation to RusAF:

1.1
First, Council decided to sanction RusAF's admitted breaches of the Anti-DopingRules during the Lysenko investigation with a $10 million fine, with $5 million to be paidby 1 July 2020 and the other $5 million suspended. Council required RusAF to pay therelated costs by 1 July 2020 (a sum of $1.31 million), and also stated that for theremainder of 2020 no more than ten Russian athletes would be granted eligibility tocompete (as neutral athletes) in the Olympic Games, World Athletics Series events, andthe European Athletics Championships. Council's decision also stated: 'If RusAF fails topay either the US $5 million mentioned in paragraph 4 or the costs mentioned inparagraph 5 in full on or before 1 July 2020, Council reserves the right to reconsider thisdecision and to revoke or amend any part of it and/or supplement it as Council sees fit'.
1.2
Second, Council mandated the Taskforce to draw up new terms of reference forthe reinstatement of RusAF's membership, based on the development of a detailed plan
designed (a) to ingrain a culture of zero tolerance for doping throughout Russian
athletics; and (b) to rehabilitate RusAF so that it becomes a trusted ally of World
Athletics in the fight for clean sport. That plan was to be drawn up by representatives ofRusAF, the Ministry of Sport, the Russian Olympic Committee, RUSADA, and two athletes
from the RusAF Athletes Commission, sitting together as the RusAF Reinstatement
Commission, with the help of two international experts designated by World Athletics.
Once the plan was approved by Council, the two international experts (supervised bythe Taskforce) would then oversee implementation of the plan on the ground in Russia,
in order to ensure that the desired change in culture was reflected and implemented inRusAF’s strategy and in all of its operational polices, practices, procedures, and decisionmaking.
2.
After the meeting, the initial signs were that Mr Evgeniy Yurchenko, who had
replaced Mr Shlyakhtin as RusAF President, was ready to lead real reform at RusAF. Hedid not appeal against the sanctions imposed by Council for RusAF's gross breach of theAnti-Doping Rules. To the contrary, he advised the World Athletics President that 'RusAF
respects the decisions made' by Council, and welcomed them as having 'contributed toimproving the overall climate within the whole Russian athletics community', and as the'fresh start' that RusaF was 'striving for'. Obviously the fine was an extra-ordinary andunbudgeted expense for RusAF, but he did not express any concern about being able tofind the money to pay it.
3.
Unfortunately Mr Yurchenko subsequently failed to deliver on the requirements
put on RusAF by Council in March:
3.1RusAF failed to pay either the $5 million fine or the $1.31 million in costs due,
either by the 1 July deadline or subsequently. Importantly, Mr Yurchenko did not blame
the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, in a letter dated 8 July 2020 (copy attached), he said
that World Athletics' failure to agree the members of the Reinstatement Commission,and the consequent failure to make any meaningful progress towards reinstatement,'has paralyzed the search for potential donors (not mentioning sponsors or partners) toattract additional funding'.

1

3.2
In fact, as the World Athletics President set out in his response dated 10 July
2020 (copy attached), the record is very clear that it is Mr Yurchenko alone (not WorldAthletics) who is to blame for the lack of progress towards reinstatement: it took him till
9 June 2020 to produce the required information about the members of the RusAF
Reinstatement Commission and to produce a draft reinstatement plan that was woefullyinadequate.
4.
In his letter to Mr Yurchenko of 9 July 2020, the World Athletics President
concluded: 'The Council will undoubtedly be very disappointed to see that the radical
change in attitude that you promised from the new RusAF regime has not materialised'.
The Taskforce shares that disappointment. Over the last five years, the Taskforce has
spent an enormous amount of time and effort trying to help RusAF reform itself andRussian athletics, for the benefit of all clean Russian athletes. The Taskforce has madeitself available at all times to RusAF, and has responded expediently to all requests forhelp, but ultimately has seen RusAF achieve very little in terms of changing the cultureof Russian athletics.
5.
At the request of the World Athletics President, the Taskforce stood down on 1
July 2020, after RusAF failed to pay the amounts due on that date. In addition, theDoping Review Board has not actioned any applications for Neutral Athlete status sincethat date.
6.
Mr Yurchenko resigned as RusAF President on 13 July 2020. Last Friday, 24 July,the RusAF First Vice-President, Mr. Alexey Plotnikov, got in contact, asking for a further
opportunity to engage with the Taskforce. The correspondence with Mr Plotnikov isattached. The Council will see that Mr Plotnikov was told there would be no engagement
because the amounts outstanding had not been paid by RusAF. This morning a letter
was received from the Russian Minister of Sport, Mr Oleg Matytsin (copy attached),
stating that the two outstanding RusAF invoices (in the amount of $5 million, for the fineinstalment; and in the amount of $1.31 million, for the costs) will be paid before 15
August 2020.
7.
If payment is indeed received in full by that date, the Taskforce would be ready,if Council so wishes, to re-engage with the reinstatement process on the basis specified
by Council in March 2020. If the promised payment is not received by that deadline,
however, or if the promised plan is not provided and implemented properly thereafter,in the view of the Taskforce it will be time to expel RusAF from membership of World
Athletics.
8.

The Taskforce therefore recommends that the Council decides as follows:
8.1

Expulsion decision:(1)

To recommend to Congress that it resolves to expel RusAF frommembership of World Athletics, in accordance with Article 14.1of the Constitution, on the basis that the matters that led
Congress to suspend RusAF from membership pursuant to Art
13.7 have not been satisfactorily addressed.

(2)

To recommend that a Special Congress meeting be convened assoon as possible to allow Congress to consider and vote on theproposal to expel RusAF. In the circumstances of the ongoing andworsening pandemic, that Special Congress meeting should if
possible be held virtually, to avoid delay.
2(3)
8.2

That pending Congress's decision, the 'Neutral Athlete'mechanism will not be made available to Russian athletes.

The expulsion decision at paragraph 8.1 is suspended, but will come into
effect immediately and automatically if any of the following conditions isnot met:
(1)

Payment in full of the two outstanding RusAF invoices to bereceived on or before close of business in Monaco on 15 August
2020.

(2)

The RusAF Reinstatement Commission to provide the draft planreferenced in the third paragraph of the Council's decision of 12March 2020 – of suitable scope and depth, with an
implementation plan and progress indicators -- to the Taskforce
on or before 31 August 2020.

(3)

Any changes required by the Taskforce to the draft plan to beincorporated to the Taskforce's satisfaction on or before 30
September 2020.

(4)

The plan to be brought into effect and satisfactory progressachieved against the plan (as determined by the Taskforce, basedon the input of the international experts appointed by World
Athletics), as reported to the Taskforce to Council at each of its
subsequent meetings.

In relation to Authorised Neutral Athletes ('ANAs'):i.

Athletes may apply for ANA status for 2020 competitions inaccordance with the process specified by the Doping Review
Board.

ii.

No ANA status will be granted to any athlete for 2020
competitions unless and until conditions (1) to (3) above are met.

iii.

If conditions (1) to (3) are met then, in accordance with Council'sMarch decision, (1) no more than 10 athletes (in total, not per
event) will be granted ANA status for World Athletics Seriesevents. (The only such event scheduled for 2020 is the WorldAthletics Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia); (2) there isno cap on ANAs for other international competitions in 2020.

iv.

Council’s March 2020 decision to allow up to 10 Authorised
Neutral Athletes for World Athletics Series events and the Tokyo
Olympics will be reviewed no earlier than December 2020, basedon an assessment of the progress made by RusAF against thereinstatement plan.

Rune Andersen, Taskforce Chair
30 July 20203