Key figures in track scandal appeal their lifetime bans

Three men at the heart of track and field’s international doping scandal have appealed to have their lifetime bans annulled.

Papa Massata Diack of Senegal and two Russian sports officials -- Valentin Balakhnichev and Alexei Melnikov -- were punished for conspiring to extort hundreds of thousands from Russian marathoner Liliya Shobukhova so she could avoid a doping ban before the 2012 London Olympics.

Diack is the son of Lamine Diack, former president of the international track federation who is facing criminal corruption charges. The son served as an IAAF marketing consultant.

Balakhnichev was the longtime president of the Russian track federation. Melnikov coached Russian distance runners and race walkers.

The Russian track federation and all of its athletes have been hit with allegations of systemic doping and are barred from international competition. The IAAF, under new president Sebastian Coe, has begun a reform process.

The IAAF recently handed down the lifetime bans on Diack, Balakhnichev and Melnikov. The men have taken their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which said only that its arbitration procedures are in progress.