RUSSIA’S brightest track and field stars were defiant after their country’s athletics federation was provisionally suspended from international competition over state-sponsored doping allegations, saying no ban could hinder their Olympic ambitions.

    Pole vaulting star Yelena Isinbayeva, who had called on the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) not to punish honest competitors for their peers’ doping practices, wrote Saturday on Instagram she was “shocked” that the IAAF had suspended the country following the publication of a damning report on mass doping in Russian athletics.

    Other athletes simply shrugged off the decision, saying they were convinced authorities would resolve the situation in time for the Russian team to compete at the Rio Olympics in August 2016.

    “This decision does not affect our preparation,” said 400m runner Radel Kashefrazov. “It’s not like we are going to stay home and do nothing.

    “Athletes aren’t especially worried,” he said. “We are hoping this will be resolved fast.”

    Russian athletes are banking on the provisional suspension being lifted ahead of the Rio Games, a possibility former WADA chief Dick Pound said was tied to Russia’s ability to react promptly.

    “All the problems we outlined need to be solved before the Olympics,” Pound, who headed the WADA independent commission, said in an interview published Saturday in Russia’s Sport-Express newspaper.

    “But if you start procrastinating, then apparently the Olympics will go on without you (Russia).”

    The suspension also strips Russia of the right to host the World Race Walking Cup and World Junior Championships, which had been scheduled to take place in the country ahead of Rio.

    The Russia Olympic Committee (ROC) announced Saturday that it would lead efforts to revamp athletics in the country, vowing to punish all those involved in scandal — be they athletes, trainers or state officials.

    Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko told R-Sport news agency that the tribulations of Russian athletics could serve as a “lesson” for the country’s other sports federations.

    The head of the Russian athletics federation, Vadim Zelichenok, meanwhile said the country had a “more than 50 percent chance” of turning things around.

    “We had all hoped for better,” high jump world champion Maria Kuchina said Saturday, adding that she found the IAAF decision “harsh.”

    (SD-Agencies)