The Russian Athletics Association has been shut down by the International Athletics Association World Athletics since 2015 revealed that state controlled doping has taken place in the country.

It has nevertheless been ensured that pure Russian athletes have been allowed to compete under the neutral flag and, among other things, the high jump star Marija Lasitskene has taken two of her three World Cup golds under the neutral flag.

Deadline on Wednesday

After Wednesday, it may be over as well.

In March of this year, the Russian Federation received a $ 10 million fine for previous management having helped the high-jumper Danil Lysenko avoid a doping test. Half the sum must be paid to World Athletics by July 1st, otherwise the opportunity to compete under the neutral flag will be removed.

The Russian Olympic Committee has said that they will not help with the payment and the Russian Athletic Association does not want to comment on whether they will pay. It is also unclear whether they have the money required or not.

The Russian Ministry of Sports has previously objected to the fact that the athletes could be completely suspended if the sum is not paid and believes that it is a double punishment that is not reasonable.

"Punishment should be borne by the covenant"

The athletes themselves have also realized the seriousness of the situation. A group of practitioners, headed by Lasitskene, wrote a letter to President Vladimir Putin asking him to address the situation.

Among other things, it is written that "Russian athletics has been in a crisis since 2015" and that there is no plan for how that crisis should be resolved.

“We want to draw your attention to the catastrophic situation in Russian athletics. We are on the verge of a disaster, ”they write.

Yesterday, former stellar jump star Jelena Isinbajeva also posted a long letter on her social media addressing World Athletics and the International Olympic Committee. She believes that it is not reasonable for the punishment to go beyond pure sports.

"The penalty should be borne by the federation, not the sports," she writes, among other things.