Tokyo Olympics 2020: Kremlin says new charges against Russian track federation won't derail preparations

Moscow: The Kremlin says a raft of new charges against the Russian track federation won’t derail the country’s preparations to compete in next year’s Olympics. [caption id=“attachment_4038123” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The office of the World Anti-Doping Agency. Reuters[/caption] Federation president Dmitry Shlyakhtin and anti-doping official Elena Ikonnikova were among seven people charged Thursday for allegedly faking medical documents used as an alibi by an athlete who failed to make himself available for drug testing. Asked if this threatens the country’s Olympic plans, Russian President Vladimir Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says “undoubtedly, this (situation) requires attention from the sports authorities, and I’m sure they’re dealing with it. But I don’t see a direct connection with Russia’s participation in the Olympics here.” Russia is also facing a World Anti-Doping Agency ruling next month on whether it manipulated data from a lab in Moscow.