Three officials banned for life by athletics' world governing body the IAAF for blackmailing athletes and covering up positive drugs tests have appealed against the sanctions to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Papa Massata Diack, the son of former IAAF president Lamine Diack and a marketing consultant for the organisation, former Russian athletics federation (ARAF) president and IAAF treasurer Valentin Balakhnichev, and Alexei Melnikov, a senior ARAF coach, were handed the life bans on 7 January.
The IAAF's ethics commission found that the trio had blackmailed Russian runner Liliya Shobukhova, London marathon winner in 2010, and made her pay a bribe for a positive drugs test to be covered up.
French police have issued an international wanted notice via Interpol for Diack junior over corruption allegations, while his father is also the subject of a police investigation over allegations of receiving money to cover up positive tests.
A statement from CAS released on Monday read: "Three appeals have been filed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) ethics commission decision dated 7 January 2016.
"Valentin Balakhnichev, former president of the All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF), Alexei Melnikov, former chief ARAF coach for long-distance walkers and runners, and Papa Massata Diack, former marketing consultant to the IAAF, all seek to have their life bans from involvement in the sport of track and field annulled.
"CAS arbitration procedures are in progress. The CAS will not comment any further at this time."
