The World Indoor Athletics Championships get under way here on Thursday with the credibility of track and field on the line as the sport grapples with the fallout from the worst doping scandal in its history.
The four-day meeting is the first global championships to take place since Russian athletes were banned from competition last year after a devastating World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) report which detailed evidence of systemic doping.
Five other nations – Ethiopia, Morocco, Kenya, Ukraine and Belarus – have also been given a stern warning by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) that they need to clean up their acts or face suspension.
Months of tumultuous headlines have left the IAAF chiefs battling to restore the sport’s integrity as more than 600 athletes from around 200 nations gather in Portland for this week’s championships.
Russia’s ban means the country will not be able to defend the three titles won at the last world indoor championships in Poland two years ago – the men’s and women’s triple jump and the women’s high jump.
