MOSCOW: The entire board of Russia’s athletics federation has resigned as the government attempts to find a way out of the country’s deepening doping crisis before this year’s Olympic Games.

The federation (RUSAF) and the Russian sports ministry announced late Monday that the board was handing over its powers to a working group within the Russian Olympic Committee as all of its members resign.

The decision has been made “as RUSAF activities have not led to the reinstatement of the federation in World Athletics”, and to “ensure participation of clean Russian athletes in international and Russian competition”, the joint statement said.

“It’s clear that the crisis in Russian athletics has gone on for five years and it has gone on too long,” Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin, who was appointed last month, was quoted as saying.

Russia has been suspended since 2015 over a doping scandal and was fighting for readmission to the global athletics body.

But the readmission process was suspended last year as Russia was accused of obstructing a probe into high jumper Danil Lysenko.

World Athletics also stopped reviewing which Russians can compete as neutrals with less than six months to go before Tokyo 2020.

Both RUSAF and the former sports minister denied any wrongdoing.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2020