As for the possibility that qualified Russian track and field athletes who pass doping scrutiny might compete in Rio despite the blanket ban on Russia’s track federation, Bach said, “We still have to wait. for the individual decisions coming from IAAF”.
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Popov was quoted by Tass as saying the International Olympic Committee “has taken the right and wise stance”.
Kenyan Olympic chief Kipchoge Keino confirmed that 60 athletes, including Rugby Sevens players, have already undergone the new testing procedure and more tests were expected before the team departs for the Olympics. “We have always done our best in the fight against doping”, said Jackson Tuwei, the president of Athletics Kenya. What is the problem?
Borzakovsky, a former Olympic 800-meter champion, added that if he were still competing, he would refuse the IAAF’s offer of neutral status and that pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva planned to do the same if she receives an offer.
Stepanova has been relocated to Canada but the 29-year-old middle-distance runner had hoped to qualify for and compete in Rio under the International Olympic Committee flag.
Warner questioned whether Russian president Vladimir Putin would pre-empt that by withdrawing the nation from the Games in protest.”Could Putin pull the entire Russia team?” he said.
But the International Olympic Committee appears to have backed down somewhat and may allow Russian track and field athletes to compete under the Russian flag.
The IOC says all competitors from both Russian Federation and Kenya – also with a recent history of doping – must be screened individually before being allowed to participate in the Games. The leaders put the onus on each global sports federation, known as an IF, to make sure athletes from those countries are clean.
She won her national championship with a leap of 6.84m and then said she was delighted to hear that Russians, if they qualify, could at least compete for their country and not be forced to fly a neutral flag. The IAAF said only a handful of athletes fell into that category.
Bach says “when it comes to the Olympic Games, all athletes then are part of the team of the Russian Olympic Committee”.
“But beyond all doubt, we intend to defend the interests of our sportsmen – I mean, those sportsmen who are not associated in any way with doping use”.
“By welcoming the team of Refugee Olympic Athletes to the Olympic Games Rio 2016, we want to send a message of hope for all refugees in our world”, said IOC President Thomas Bach.
Former WADA president Dick Pound, who led the investigation into Russian athletics a year ago, told The Sunday Times that it was “the nuclear option.but not impossible”, and current boss Sir Craig Reedie told a London conference on Monday the second investigation may present a “precedent-setting opportunity”.
During the 2013 World Championship, she earned the ire of Western press and competitors after backing Russia’s controversial law banning “homosexual propaganda” to minors, vaguely-worded legislation critics say violates the rights of the LGBT community.
The Olympic summit meeting has ended without any official word on the outcome.
The IOC met in Lausanne on Tuesday to agree a five-point anti-doping plan.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on Friday voted to uphold Russia’s suspension, first imposed in November after a WADA report unveiled state-sponsored doping and widespread corruption in Russian athletics.
Russian Federation has not ruled out a complete boycott of this year’s Olympics, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Russia’s parliament has mentioned the Spanish Inquisition in warning the International Olympic Committee not to inflict “collective punishment” on Russian athletes.
The IOC will give the athletes the opportunity to prove their innocence, and if they do so, they may compete under the Russian flag.
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“Track and field is about individuals”.
