From doping to damaged goods: Russian athletics’ long road to reintegration

After almost 10 years in the international wilderness, Russia’s track-and-field athletes appear little closer to a return to competing under their country’s flag than they were at the height of their doping ban. That suspension – imposed on Russia in November 2015 after state-sponsored doping was uncovered – was lifted in 2023, but it has remained ostracised over the invasion of Ukraine. And it was only in March that World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said sanctions would stay in place until a “peace agreement was reached”. And yet, there is a sense of optimism internally that the world governing body could be ready to bring Russia out of the international wilderness. On the sidelines of the Russian Track and Field Championships in Kazan last weekend, the Russian Athletics Federation’s chairman, Petr Fradkov, and its new general secretary, Alexander Djordjadze, discussed changing the culture from within, the steps they were taking towards reintegration and the clean bill of health they have received from the global governing body’s Athletics Integrity Unit. Painful history Convincing the world that Russia can change – has changed – might be Fradkov’s biggest task, but he and Djordjadze consider a level of trust to have already been established between their federation and World Athletics. Fradkov said his organisation was “quite pragmatic” in its approach and understood that for athletes to return to international competition, little steps and a gradual approach were probably necessary. “In terms of [a] relationship, I really don’t feel any mistrust or something,” Fradkov told a small gathering of journalists at the Kazan Kremlin, a World Heritage site in the capital of the semi-autonomous region of Tatarstan. “We are really in an open discussion … it’s quite frank. We share information, we share views, we share the positions on how to get our athletes back. “We certainly are working on it with our colleagues from World Athletics, and I think they hear our arguments. So we believe that in the proximate future there may be some decisions to get some of our athletes restored in some way.” The question, of course, then becomes one of perception, and whether those outside official channels believe a country that engaged in a massive programme of state-sponsored doping – and appeared not to have learned its lesson as recently as the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 – can be trusted. Djordjadze, who was heavily involved in running the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia and joined the federation in January, said he believed there was “no mistrust on our side, neither with us or the public”. “I understand what you’re saying, that there could be mistrust on the other side, since there is a painful history with this federation in particular,” Djordjadze said. “We were not part of that history. We are new faces. “We are trying to be as straightforward as we could be, and I think that the other side is, or will, gradually appreciate it, and thus the trust will be built. That’s the only way.” There is still work to do. Terrence Burns, a former marketing executive with the International Olympic Committee, last week told Agence France-Presse there could be no shortcut to Russia’s return because they had “never really owned up to any of it”. “There’s been no admission, no accountability. Zero,” the American said. “If Russia wants back in, it’s going to have to show it’s willing to change.” ‘Nice guys in good suits’ Fradkov, the son of former Russian prime minister Mikhail Fradkov, and the chairman of state-owned bank PJSC Promsvyazbank, is eight months into his time as chairman of the athletics federation. Considered to have influence with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Fradkov said he would “try not to politicise the whole situation”, but remained hopeful of finding a solution while acknowledging there was “plenty of room for improvement inside ourselves”. “Culture is not changing in one split second, with the arrival of nice guys in good suits,” Djordjadze said. “We understand that it’s very hard work.” For the chairman, regional development, investment in infrastructure, education, and motivating coaches and athletes lies at the core of changing the culture. According to Fradkov, an example of what lay ahead was focusing on “coaches on the regional level, who start working with kids but sometimes face issues of underpayment, so they are not motivated”. “We have to develop infrastructure in regions, because people raised there in the 10 years that we have been banned, we see there was underinvestment,” Fradkov said. “This is quite challenging in terms of resources; we cannot do it spontaneously in one day. So we have to motivate the regional authorities to invest. “Our vision is to foster regions to be more active in developing athletics. And certainly good governance, with an emphasis on transparency, is our goal, because of mistakes that were made.” But as Djordjadze pointed out, the federation has 76 smaller member federations and “not all the members or people are on the same page with us, but we are doing our best”. Valieva, and since Of course, the Russian-sized elephant in the room is drugs. It is easy to forget that World Athletics ended the sanctions imposed for large-scale doping two years ago. The case of Kamila Valieva undermined the notion of the country putting past actions behind it. The figure skater was only 15 years old when she was banned for four years after testing positive for heart medication at the Beijing Winter Games three years ago. But according to Fradkov, his track-and-field organisation had “been continuing to fulfil all the regulations since the ban”, and a recent monitoring audit by the Athletics Integrity Unit had given Russia the all-clear. “We’re absolutely trying to provide zero-tolerance policy towards doping, and we are working hard with the regional federations in terms of getting everything structured,” Fradkov said. “According to the Russian Anti-Doping Agency [Rusada], we are No 1 in their ratings among all the federations, so that’s also quite important.” Increased anti-doping awareness and constant monitoring of their top athletes so they “understand all the rules of the game” had resulted in 3,000 tests being conducted annually on Russian track-and-field athletes, Djordjadze said. There were “less than 10 anti-doping violations per year”, he said. Athletes are required to register their whereabouts and contact details so that anti-doping bodies can find them without notice for out-of-competition testing. Two days after the interview, Rusada, which was accused in 2016 by the World Anti-Doping Agency of operating “for the protection of doped Russian athletes”, reported 47 cases of violations by national athletes regarding their availability for testing in July. That marked a significant deterioration in the fight against doping during 2025, positioning July as the worst month so far in terms of whereabouts infractions. It highlighted the persistence of a systemic issue that, while fluctuating over time, continues to challenge anti-doping efforts. There have been 195 recorded violations so far this year, after 282 for all of 2024, 242 in 2023 and 375 in 2022. Past ‘was only my fault’ And so to the athletes. Polina Knoroz and Danil Lysenko both competed in Kazan, Russia’s fifth-largest city that sits on the banks of the Volga and Kazanka rivers. The pair cover the extremes of the past decade. High-jumper Lysenko was banned for six years in 2021, with two suspended, for his part in a 2018 doping case in which medical documents were forged, resulting in five Russian officials being punished. With his ban dated to the start of his original suspension, the former world champion and Diamond League winner officially returned to competition in August 2022. This year, he has already jumped 2.35 metres, the best in the world. In Kazan, 2.27m was enough for victory, and the 28-year-old said this season was the first since his return when he “didn’t feel any problems, any boundaries”. One of the accusations thrown at Russia has been the lack of remorse. Lysenko has previously apologised for the impact of his case on innocent athletes, and said it was not his idea to forge the documents to cover up why he violated the whereabouts rule. He has also said he had in no way attempted to conceal use of banned substances. “To be honest, it was a very hard period of time for me, because I was very worried about it and I felt really bad,” Lysenko, speaking through a translator, told the Post at Kazan Central Stadium. “I had many headaches. And now I try not to think about what happened. I try to live my new life. “You know, I was so young and green. Of course, I am responsible for everything that passes with me. But that time I was not so responsible as now, and yeah, it was only my fault what happened in the past.” Knoroz started competing in pole vault in 2014 while still at school. Her country was initially banned in November 2015, and has not competed at an Olympics since the Rio Games in 2016. The 26-year-old cleared 4.86m on Sunday, the second-highest successful attempt of the year behind Amanda Moll of the United States, who posted 4.91m. Knoroz’s opportunities in international competition have been severely limited, and she said it was “inner motivation” that kept her going. “I just want to show myself that when I don’t have an opportunity to compete with other world champions, I am able to do my best,” she said through a translator. Her best makes her the leading pole vaulter in Europe this year, but Russia itself has yet to clear the bars set for its reintegration. Rather than taking part in next month’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Knoroz must watch from afar. Her country’s reputation, still widely associated as much with past doping as a present-day war, will take some time yet to restore. Josh Ball visited Kazan as a guest of the Russian Athletics Federation.

From doping to damaged goods: Russian athletics’ long road to reintegration

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}As Russia sits out September’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, its national federation is battling to rebuild trust

As Russia sits out September’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, its national federation is battling to rebuild trust