• Former Russian Deputy Minister for Sport, Yuri Nagornykh (Юрием Нагорных), spoke to students at the Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism about how to find a job following graduation on Friday 5 October. Nagornykh was implicated in the Independent Person (IP) Reports produced by Richard McLaren for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as deciding which positive doping tests would ‘disappear’. He was sanctioned with a lifetime ban from the Olympic Games in 2017. He now heads the sports sector at Russian Railways (РЖД), a State-owned company that was a partner of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.

• Dmitry Shlyakhtin, President of the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF), has confirmed that the body will meet with the Task Force appointed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to assess whether RusAF has met the conditions required for reinstatement into international competitions on 7-8 November in Rome. Shlyakhtin said that a member of the Russian Ministry of Sports, as well as lawyers that advise RusAF will also attend the meeting.

• Ksenia Yamaeva (Volkova), who won gold as part of the women’s W8+ team at the 2015 European Championships, has been sanctioned with a four year ban from 28 February 2017, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) confirmed. According to World Rowing, she does not appear to have competed internationally since helping the women’s W8+ team take fifth place at the 2016 World Rowing Cup in May 2016. She also helped the W8+ tam to bronze at the 2016 European Rowing Championships, also in May.

• Italian billiards player Sebastiano Ruocco has been provisionally suspended after returning an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for indapamide, Italy’s national anti-doping agency (NADO Italia) announced. Triathlon athlete Emilio Berti has also been provisionally suspended after returning an AAF for clenbuterol; and amateur cyclist Giuseppe Di Bennardo has been provisionally suspended after returning an AAF for LGD-4033, a developmental selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM).

• India’s national anti-doping agency (NADA India) confirmed (PDF below) that 1,500m runner Monicka Choudhary was provisionally suspended on 10 September during the selection trials for the 2018 Asian Games. NADA India also revealed that hurdler Neelam Kumari has been sanctioned with a four year ban, as has a powerlifter, Ms. Usha. Weightlifter Nadisetti S. Murthy has also been sanctioned with a two year ban, and a number of minor athletes have also been sanctioned. During September, NADA India said that 442 samples were collected, including 18 blood samples.

• The Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) received 63 match alerts through its memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the betting industry during the third quarter of 2018, it announced. The Q3 figure of 63 alerts compares with 65 received in the same period in 2017, 96 in 2016 and 64 in 2015.

• Ireland’s Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) has launched Zero Gains, a campaign designed to raise awareness of the side effects of steroid use. A survey of 1,000 adults carried out for the HPRA found that 22% of young adults (18-34) would consider taking steroids to enhance performance or improve physique, and 48% of the total were unaware of the side effects. The survey also found that one in four knows somebody who has used unprescribed steroids. The HRPA said that in 2017, working with the Gardaí (police) and Customs, it had seized 449,411 doses of steroids, up from 109,006 during 2016 and 38,049 in 2015.