Russia given August deadline by World Athletics to pay fine

World Athletics gave Russia's troubled track and field federation a second deadline on Thursday to pay a $5 million fine by mid-August after the Russian Sports Ministry promised to clear the debts. The Russian Athletics Federation, known as RusAF, was fined $10 million in March, with half of that sum suspended.

World Athletics gave Russia's troubled track and field federation a second deadline on Thursday to pay a $5 million fine by mid-August after the Russian Sports Ministry promised to clear the debts. The Russian Athletics Federation, known as RusAF, was fined $10 million in March, with half of that sum suspended. Its former leadership was accused of providing forged medical documents to give an athlete an alibi for being unavailable for drug testing.

World Athletics said it will call on its congress to vote virtually on expelling Russia if the $5 million fine and another $1.3 million in costs aren't paid by Aug. 15. Russia must also provide a road map for anti-doping and governance reforms. RusAF said in March it would attempt to pay but missed the July 1 deadline. It said this week it has had no income since December and failed to attract external funding.

RusAF has been suspended from World Athletics since 2015 over widespread doping. The ministry did not immediately confirm the offer to pay and it was not immediately clear whether any payment would come from Russian government funds or another source.

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