Three athletics officials appeal against life bans

Former Russian Athletics boss Valentin Balakhnichev, former Russian coach Alexei Melnikov and former IAAF consultant Papa Massata Diack have appealed against their life bans from the sport, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Monday.

The trio were among a number of athletes and officials banned from any involvement in athletics after a World Anti-Doping Agency report exposed the corrupt rule of former IAAF president Lamine Diack, the father of Papa Massata.

The report said that Diack senior, who hails from Senegal, ran a clique at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) that covered up organised doping and blackmailed athletes while senior officials looked the other way.

An earlier report led to Russia being banned from competition for state-sponsored doping. The three officials, as well as Lamine Diack, deny any wrongdoing.

The IAAF’s ethics commission found that the trio had blackmailed Russian runner Liliya Shobukhova, London marathon winner in 2010, and made her pay a bribe for a positive drugs test to be covered up.

French police have issued an international wanted notice via Interpol for Diack junior over corruption allegations, while his father is also the subject of a police investigation over allegations of receiving money to cover up positive tests.

A statement from CAS released on Monday read: "Three appeals have been filed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) ethics commission decision dated January 7, 2016. "Valentin Balakhnichev, former president of the All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF), Alexei Melnikov, former chief ARAF coach for long-distance walkers and runners, and Papa Massata

Diack, former marketing consultant to the IAAF, all seek to have their life bans from involvement in the sport of track and field annulled. “CAS arbitration procedures are in progress. The CAS will not comment any further at this time.”