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 The Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) was suspended last month
following a report by the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA)
independent commission that exposed widespread, systematic
state-sponsored doping and related corruption.
Russian athletes are therefore set to miss the world indoor
athletics championships in the United States in March and face a
race against time to be cleared to compete in the Olympics in Rio de
Janeiro in August.
The WOA, without mentioning Russia specifically, released a
statement supporting the rights of clean athletes.
"We believe banning clean athletes is unjust and that sport and its
many fans will ultimately pay the price as they will miss the
opportunity to see their clean heroes compete at the highest level,"
WOA President Joel Bouzou said in a statement on the body's website
(http://olympians.org/).
"The individual rights of clean athletes should also be respected as
well as their right to train and to compete in the sport that they
love.
"One thing is clear: an urgent solution is needed for athletes who
are seeking to qualify for and participate in major events allowing
them to train, prepare and compete with certainty," the statement
said.
The WOA was established by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
in 1994 to represent those who have competed at Games.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) last
Friday published a long and detailed list of criteria that the
Russians must satisfy before the ban imposed is lifted.
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While accepting that athletes, officials and doctors who cheat
should be sanctioned, Bouzou suggested that athletes from banned
countries that have clean doping records could undergo
"extraordinary testing sessions" to allow them to compete.
The Frenchman, a four-times Olympian in modern pentathlon, also said
the WOA supported the IOC's proposal for WADA to run independent
dope testing on behalf of the sports federations and National
Olympic Committees in the future.
Overall, however, his main concern was to ensure that athletes who
have never been found guilty of wrongdoing would not suffer for the
offences of others.
"It is not only the rights and reputations of athletes at stake, but
also their ability to act as role models, inspiring young people and
encouraging the next generation to take up sport," he said.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Ian Ransom and Paul Tait)
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