Russia will remain banned by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) into 2019 after it was decided to extend their suspension until the samples and data from the Moscow Laboratory have been made available.
The decision to continue the ban means that Russia will not be able to compete under their own flag at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow in February next year.
But Russian athletes will be allowed to compete under a neutral flag providing they meet strict criteria on anti-doping.
The Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) was initially suspended by the IAAF in November 2015 following allegations of widespread state-supported doping.
This was the ninth occasion that the IAAF ruling Council had voted to extend the ban.
The data from the Moscow Laboratory is seen as key in helping establish the extent of doping in Russian athletics between 2011 and 2015.
“I hope they’ll deliver the data by the end of this year,” Rune Andersen, head of the IAAF’s Taskforce on Russia, said.
“But I cannot go any further than that.
“We’ve received no assurances it will be delivered to us directly.
“Assurances have been given to WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) and WADA have set a deadline of December 31 to receive the data.
“We’ll have to rely on receiving the data from WADA before handing it to the AIU (Athletics Integrity Unit).”
The agreement by the IAAF to maintain the ban comes despite the controversial decision by WADA in September to reinstate the Russian Anti-Doping Agency
(RUSADA).
