Editor’s comment: It is refreshing to see European Athletics’ Arne Hansen honestly comment on the Russian debacle.

If the WADA report is going to be taken seriously, then, the rebuilding of a doping free Russian sports system surely will take more than a few months. Unlike social media, where something older than fifteen minutes is considered ancient, changing a fifty-plus year old sports system will take real time.

I met with President Hansen at the Beijing World Champs. I was quite impressed with his energy and his desire to upgrade European Athletics Association and the sport in Europe. Hansen gets it.

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President Hansen expects Russia absence from Rio 2016

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President Hansen expects Russia absence from Rio 2016

by Ben Coldwell December 29, 2015

The European Athletics president, Svein Arne Hansen, does not believe the necessary changes to be made by Russia will be seen in time for the Olympic Games

European Athletics president Svein Arne Hansen does not expect to see Russia reinstated to the international arena in time for the Rio Olympics next summer.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) imposed an indefinite suspension from all international competition for all Russian athletes after a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Independent Commission report confirmed a state-level cover-up of doping violations.

Seb Coe, the IAAF president, announced in November that an inspection team will oversee Russia’s reform process to ensure the established verification criteria, laid out by the IAAF in December, is fulfilled.

Read more at http://www.athleticsweekly.com/featured/president-hansen-expects-russia-absence-rio-2016-37359/#U13SoW7X6oBalcdS.99

Author

Larry Eder

Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys.

Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."

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