Russia sanctions will stay in place

Track and field’s governing body is not ready to lift Russia’s suspension from competitions as the country fails to fully accept the findings of an investigation into its state-sponsored doping scheme.

The meeting of IAAF member associations in London on Thursday will be asked to maintain the ban on Russia that was imposed in 2015 after World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren exposed how failed drug tests were covered up.

Rune Andersen, the IAAF’s Russia task force chairman, wants assurances that the McLaren report’s findings “have been properly acknowledged and addressed, and there will be no repetition.”

The Russian athletics federation “has not yet demonstrated to the satisfaction of the task force that it has established a strong anti-doping culture within its sport, or that it has created an open environment that encourages whistle-blowing,” Andersen added in a report Monday to the IAAF Council.

The 19 Russians competing at the world championships in London, which begin Friday, were cleared to compete as neutrals after the IAAF assessed their history of drug testing.