Fionnuala McCormack expects Russians at Olympics

Fionnuala McCormack expects the IAAF to relent and allow Russian athletes to compete at this year’s Olympic Games, along with several other nations whose anti-doping systems have come under fire in recent months.

Russia was banned from international competition last year after evidence of systematic doping emerged, and the IAAF gave offic until March to implement a series of changes or face expulsion from the Olympics. Last month that deadline was extended, with the IAAF set to vote on their return at an extraordinary council meeting in May.

“I can’t see them not being there,” said McCormack. “The whole thing is such a mess that I can’t see anyone standing up and saying: ‘you’re out’. The corruption is so much at the top that I don’t see how they’ll be able to say who can and can’t compete. If they throw out Kenya too, it’s just going to keep going down and down, so I just presume they’ll all be there.”