advertisement

Guide to world sports bodies judging Russia's doping case

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) - Russia's ban from Olympic track and field for alleged doping is being investigated and judged by an alphabet soup of world sports leaders.

The IOC on Tuesday will host a meeting to assess an IAAF decision that was based on a WADA investigation and could be appealed against to CAS.

Who are these people?

Here's a breakdown of what all those letters and acronyms mean:

___

IOC

The International Olympic Committee, which has ultimate ownership of the Summer Games being held in Rio de Janeiro from Aug. 5-21.

The IOC has called a summit of sports leaders to its home city of Lausanne, Switzerland, to discuss the implications of the Russian track team's ban from international competition, including the Olympics.

Though the Olympic Games brand belongs to the IOC, the not-for-profit body doesn't have responsibility for everything linked to it.

The host city's organizing committee builds the stadiums, runs the show and oversees keeping it secure and safe.

The IOC sells the broadcasting and sponsorship rights, banks the money and distributes most of it to the world federations who run their sports. Like the IAAF.

___

IAAF

The International Association of Athletics Federations is the governing body of track and field with more than 200 national member federations.

Based in Monte Carlo, Monaco, the IAAF sets the rules of the sport, verifies world records, organizes world championships and helps its members develop the sport.

As the IAAF's elected president Sebastian Coe so clearly reminded the IOC last Friday, it also decides which athletes can take part in track and field at the Olympics.

___

WADA

The World Anti-Doping Agency is the watchdog funded by government and Olympic sports to oversee the global mission of keeping sports clean and free of drug cheats.

From its offices in Montreal, WADA maintains the international sports' rule book - the World Anti-Doping Code - and decides what is included on the prohibited list of banned drugs and substances.

It also certifies, and closes down, independent testing laboratories around the world, including Moscow's.

WADA works with a worldwide network of national and regional anti-doping agencies who work with sports bodies to collect doping control samples from athletes. Those agencies include ones in the United States (USADA) and Russia (RUSADA).

It also appointed a special inquiry team which last November delivered a devastating report alleging a widespread state-backed doping program in Russia that likely extends far beyond track and field.

___

CAS

The Court of Arbitration for Sport is the ultimate court of appeal for sports governing bodies and athletes.

Known as CAS, it is based in the Olympic city of Lausanne and was created by the IOC more than 30 years ago to settle sports disputes.

Its role has become wider and workload much bigger, and it is responsible for many landmark rulings, including doping appeals.

CAS judges, drawn from a list of around 400 approved sports lawyers, have cleared Oscar Pistorius to qualify for the Olympics and upheld a FIFA ban on Uruguay soccer player Luis Suarez for biting an opponent at the World Cup.

The court is currently working through a backlog of Russian doping cases which national authorities such as RUSADA are barred from processing.

CAS is where the Russian track federation must come to appeal to its ban from the Olympics.

Brazilian soccer great Pele attends a ceremony at which he'll be honored with the Olympic Order at the Pele Museum in Santos, Brazil, Thursday, June 16, 2016. Rio de Janeiro will host the Olympic games starting on Aug. 5. (AP Photo/Andre Penner) The Associated Press
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.