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Seven more Russian athletes cleared to compete as neutrals

Seven more Russian track and field athletics have been given permission by the IAAF to compete as...



Seven more Russian athletes cl...
Golf

Seven more Russian athletes cleared to compete as neutrals

Seven more Russian track and field athletics have been given permission by the IAAF to compete as neutrals - with the country still banned for doping.

They include two world champions - hurdler Sergey Shubenkov and high-jumper Maria Kuchina.

In total this year, 10 applications have been approved to compete in a neutral vest, and 17 have been declined.

Track and field stars from Russia remain banned from IAAF events following allegations of state-sponsored doping which surfaced in a World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) Independent Commission report in November 2015.

The IAAF have recommended that the suspension stay in place until November of this year, meaning Russian athletes will miss this year's World Athletics Championships in London.

Athletes will be able to compete under a neutral flag if they can prove to the IAAF that they have been tested regularly outside of Russia.

Ahead of the Olympic Games in Rio, Russia were handed a total ban from athletics and weightlifting, while partial bans were applied to sports like cycing, rowing and aquatics. 

The bans were left to each of the sports' governing bodies and in some cases such as boxing, triathlon and gymnastics, no bans were implemented.

Maria Kuchina of Russia - seen here celebrating her gold medal in the women's High Jump at the 2015 IAAF World Championships - has been cleared to compete as a neutral. Image: Michael Kappeler/dpa

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