FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
World Athletics Council decides
on Russia, Belarus and female eligibility
The World Athletics Council has today made a number of important decisions
regarding the future participation of the Russian and Belarusian Member
Federations in athletics, and the eligibility regulations for athletes who
are transgender or who have Differences of Sexual Development (DSD).
The Council agreed to the reinstatement of the Russian Federation (RusAF)
following seven years of suspension due to egregious institutional doping
violations. However, athletes, officials and supporting personnel from
Russia and Belarus are still excluded from competition for the foreseeable
future due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Russia Taskforce recommendation
The Council approved the Russia Taskforce's recommendation that RusAF,
which has been suspended for seven years due to doping, be reinstated after
meeting all the requirements of the Reinstatement plan, which has been
confirmed by an independent audit.
However RusAF will be required to comply with a set of 35 'Special
Conditions' that are intended to ensure that RusAf's anti-doping reforms
remain in place and continue to operate effectively.
These Special Conditions are designed to enable the Athletics Integrity
Unit to monitor, evaluate, communicate, mentor, oversee, and assist RusAF
and its external stakeholders to ensure they maintain good governance
practices and to protect RusAF from external pressures and attempts to
influence or control its functioning.
They focus on four areas: organisational good governance, protection from
inappropriate external influence and control, operational capability and
capacity (with a particular emphasis on ethical and anti-doping
requirements, and change in the regions), and budget allocation and fiscal
management.
These Special Conditions are intended be applied for a period of three
years, with a review at the end of that period to determine whether or not
it is necessary to maintain those conditions (as they are or with
variations) for a further period.
Totalling 35 separate monitoring and evaluation measures, the special
conditions cover: organisational governance, presidium leadership
oversight, anti-doping, cultural change in the regions, engagement with
external stakeholders, ethics, anti-corruption and anti-conflicts of
interest, fiscal management.
Further, the Athletics Integrity Unit, has determined that RusAF should be
categorised as a Category 'A' member federation after its reinstatement.
That means that RusAF will have to comply not only with the general
obligations applicable to all member federations that are set out in WA ADR
15.4 but also with the special obligations applicable to Category 'A'
member federations that are set out in WA ADR 15.5. These federations are
subject to greater scrutiny and more testing requirements.
The Taskforce confirmed that RusAF has paid all of the costs of the
reinstatement process until the end of 2022. World Athletics will invoice
RusAF in early April for the costs incurred by World Athletics in
January-March, and the prompt payment of that invoice will be one of the
Special Conditions.
RusAF must also pay all of the costs incurred by the AIU in overseeing
RusAF's compliance with the Category A requirements and the Special
Conditions over the next three years, as well as any World Athletics costs
in connection with this oversight.
As a consequence of these decisions, the Authorised Neutral Athlete (ANA)
programme will be discontinued, and the Doping Review Board, which rules on
ANA applications, will be stood down.
The Russia Taskforce, having completed its work, will be disbanded and the
two international experts who have advised it will be stood down.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said: "I would like to express my
deep gratitude to Rune Andersen and the Taskforce members for staying the
course and helping us to resolve a major integrity issue in our sport. It
has been a mammoth undertaking over seven years but their commitment and
diligence has given the Council confidence that the Russian Federation has
reformed its structure and culture and is now on the right path in terms of
addressing doping issues. It is important that RusAF continues on this
path, but we are confident the Athletics Integrity Unit has the expertise
to monitor and assess the situation going forwards."
War in Ukraine
The World Athletics Council has also reaffirmed the decision it originally
made in March 2022, to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes, support
personnel, Member Federation officials and officials who are citizens of
those two countries from all World Athetics Series events for the
foreseeable future.
These sanctions take effect immediately and include:
a. no hosting of any International or European athletics events, which
includes World Athletics Series, Continental Tour meetings and other
International Competitions;
b. no right to attend, speak and/or vote at meetings of Congress;
c. no accreditation to attend any World Athletics Series events;
d. no involvement of Member Federation personnel in any official World
Athletics development or professional programmes; and
e. Athletes, Athlete Support Personnel, Member Federation Officials and
Officials who are Citizens of Russia and Belarus are excluded from World
Athletics Series Events for the foreseeable future.
The Council recommends to the meeting organisers of the Diamond League,
Continental Tour, Label Races and the various other Tours that they take
the same approach and exclude Athletes and Officials from RusAF and the
Belarus Athletic Federation.
The Council also agreed to establish a working group to advise and
recommend to Council the conditions that would need to be met for the
restrictions on Athletes and Officials from RusAF and the Belarus Athletic
Federation participating at World Athletics Series Events to be lifted.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said: "As I noted at the time these
measures were introduced last year, the unprecedented sanctions imposed on
Russia and Belarus by countries and industries all over the world appear to
be the only peaceful way to disrupt and disable Russia's current intentions
and restore peace. The death and destruction we have seen in Ukraine over
the past year, including the deaths of some 185 athletes, have only
hardened my resolve on this matter. The integrity of our major
international competitions has already been substantially damaged by the
actions of the Russian and Belarusian governments, through the hardship
inflicted on Ukrainian athletes and the destruction of Ukraine's sports
systems. Russian and Belarusian athletes, many of whom have military
affiliations, should not be beneficiaries of these actions."
In accordance with the World Athletics constitution, the Member Federations
from Russia and Belarus have been informed of the Council's decisions and
have the right to respond. If necessary, the Council will reconvene to
consider that response.
Transgender and DSD Regulations
The Council agreed to update the eligibility regulations for transgender
and DSD athletes to compete in the female category.
For DSD athletes, the new regulations will require any relevant athletes to
reduce their testosterone levels below a limit of 2.5 nmol/L for a minimum
of 24 months to compete internationally in the female category in any
event, not just the events that were restricted (400m to one mile) under
the previous regulations.
The principle of restricted events has been removed from the regulations.
Interim provisions will be introduced for those relevant athletes who are
already competing in what were the unrestricted events (distances below
400m and above one mile, plus field events). These provisions include a
requirement to suppress their testosterone levels below 2.5nmol/L for a
minimum of six months, before they are eligible to compete again.
The six months period is consistent with the previous regulations, which
required six months of testosterone suppression (below 5nmol/L) for DSD
athletes to compete in the restricted events. The interim provisions do not
apply to the previously restricted events (400m to one mile) where two
years of testosterone suppression will be required before the relevant
athlete is eligible to compete.
These regulations will come into effect on 31 March 2023.
In regard to transgender athletes, the Council has agreed to exclude
male-to-female transgender athletes who have been through male puberty from
female World Rankings competition from 31 March 2023.
World Athletics conducted a consultation period with various stakeholders
in the first two months of this year, including Member Federations, the
Global Athletics Coaches Academy and Athletes' Commission, the IOC as well
as representative transgender and human rights groups.
It became apparent that there was little support within the sport for the
option that was first presented to stakeholders, which required transgender
athletes to maintain their testosterone levels below 2.5nmol/L for 24
months to be eligible to compete internationally in the female category.
In terms of DSD regulations, World Athletics has more than ten years of
research and evidence of the physical advantages that these athletes bring
to the female category.
However, there are currently no transgender athletes competing
internationally in athletics and consequently no athletics-specific
evidence of the impact these athletes would have on the fairness of female
competition in athletics.
In these circumstances, the Council decided to prioritise fairness and the
integrity of the female competition before inclusion.
However the Council agreed to set up a Working Group for 12 months to
further consider the issue of transgender inclusion.
This Working Group will include an independent chair, up to three Council
Members, two athletes from the Athletes' Commission, a transgender athlete,
three representatives of the Member Federations and representatives of the
World Athletics Health and Science Department.
Its remit will be to consult specifically with transgender athletes to seek
their views on competing in athletics; to review and/or commission
additional research where there is currently limited research and to put
forward recommendations to Council.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said: "Decisions are always
difficult when they involve conflicting needs and rights between different
groups, but we continue to take the view that we must maintain fairness for
female athletes above all other considerations. We will be guided in this
by the science around physical performance and male advantage which will
inevitably develop over the coming years. As more evidence becomes
available, we will review our position, but we believe the integrity of the
female category in athletics is paramount."
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