The World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) reinstatement of Russia's anti-doping agency RUSADA on Thursday has given the country's suspended athletics federation hope it too may be reinstated, its president said in comments carried on its website.
Earlier on Thursday, WADA voted, subject to certain conditions, to lift the ban on RUSADA, which was suspended in 2015 following allegations of widespread state-sponsored doping.
“I won’t hide it, the mood is good,” Dmitry Shlyakhtin, the federation's president, said. “The reinstatement of RUSADA, of course, increases optimism (regarding the athletic federation’s reinstatement).”
Russia’s athletics federation was suspended in 2015 over a WADA-commissioned report that alleged the existence of state-sponsored doping in the sport. Some Russian track and field athletes have since been cleared to compete internationally as neutrals despite the ban.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the sport's global governing body, will convene in December to discuss progress made by Russia’s athletics federation.
