Head of Russia’s anti-doping laboratory Grigory Rodchenkov resigns

The head of Russia’s anti-doping laboratory has resigned, hours after it was stripped of its right to test samples.

A World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) commission had called for a life ban for lab director Grigory Rodchenkov.

In a report released on Monday, Wada accused him of covering up positive doping tests, extorting money from athletes and destroying 1,417 samples before inspectors visited.

Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko told Russia's Tass news agency that Rodchenkov "took the decision to resign to take all the negatives away with him" as the lab begins a reform process.

Wada suspended the lab’s accreditation on Tuesday and said samples will be transported “securely, promptly and with a demonstrable chain of custody” to an alternative Wada-accredited lab.

The announcement came shortly after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it would be ready to strip medals from any Russian athletes found guilty by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) of doping violations.

The IOC has also provisionally suspended Lamine Diack as an honorary member after the former IAAF president was placed under investigation in France on corruption charges.

Diack served as a full IOC member for 15 years until 2014, when he became an honorary member. He stepped down in August as president of the IAAF.

He was detained last week and charged by French authorities with corruption and money laundering linked to the cover-up of Russian doping cases.

Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin is due to meet the head coach of the country's track federation, two days after the Wada report accused Russia of a vast state-sponsored doping programme.

The Russian track federation said head coach Yuri Borzakovsky, a former Olympic 800-metre champion, will meet Putin at a sports centre in Sochi on Wednesday.

While the meeting between Putin and Russian sports leaders was planned as a discussion of preparations for next year's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, acting federation president Vadim Zelichenok said the doping allegations could be discussed.

Zelichenok said: “There may be a conversation, but not necessarily within the framework of the main meeting.”

The Wada report accused Russia of widespread doping and cover-ups affecting track and field athletes, including Olympic medallists.

It said that agents from the FSB intelligence service interfered with the work of a doping laboratory during last year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi.