The scandal-plagued Russian track and field team is now a step away from an unprecedented penalty — a ban on competing in the upcoming Rio Olympics.
The International Association of Athletics Federations, the governing body for track and field, voted unanimously Friday to maintain the Russian federation's suspension through the Olympics because of widespread violations of anti-doping testing and guidelines while opening a loophole that may allow some to participate.
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At a news conference in Vienna, IAAF president Sebastian Coe said: "Although good progress has been made, the IAAF Council was unanimous that RUSAF [the Russian athletics federation] had not met the reinstatement conditions and that Russian athletes could not credibly return to international competition without undermining the confidence of their competitors and the public.