Russian officials appeal doping bans

Two leading Russian athletics officials and the son of former athletics federation IAAF president Lamine Diack have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against life bans.

Valentin Balakhnichev, the former head of the Russian athletics federation ARAF, Alexei Melnikov, the former head coach for long distance walkers, and Papa Massata Diack, the former IAAF marketing consultant, "seek to have their life bans from involvement in the sport of track and field annulled," CAS said in a statement on Monday.

The three were January 7 banned for life by the ethics committee of the IAAF over the alleged cover-up of positive doping tests.

Papa Massata Diack, his father Lamine Diack and former IAAF anti-doping commission director Gabriel Dolle are under criminal investigated by French authorities on corruption and covering up of positive doping tests. Dolle was banned for five years by the IAAF ethics committee.