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Russia’s Rio Games fate in balance due to delay

Timeline of Russian doping and corruption scandals after the International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday it will study “legal options” before deciding whether to ban Russia from the Rio Games over its state-run doping programme. After the Olympics, elections will be held in all the global federations and Russian representatives will be mostly deleted from lists.

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Tuesday it would consider banning Russian Federation from the Games after a World Anti-Doping Agency investigation found evidence of a state-backed doping scheme at the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi.

“The CAS verdict will also largely influence next steps of the International Olympic Committee, which yesterday convened its Executive Board to discuss the issue of our athletes’ participation at the upcoming Olympics”, he said.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne announced on July 4 that it received a filed lawsuit from the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) against IAAF in defense of the national field and track athletes wishing to participate in the 2016 Summer Games. The IOC will consider the verdict before it makes its final decision. In mid-June, the WADA took another look and again found more of the same, leading the IAAF to issue a unanimous decision banning Russian track and field athletes from competing in worldwide competitions, saying the testing system was “tainted by doping from the top level and down”.

Right now though, the one responsible for Team Russia is thinking of sending a team 387 strong- including 68 track athletes.

“The right to participate at the games can not be stolen from an athlete, who has duly qualified and has not been found guilty of doping”, said Bruno Grandi, president of gymnastics’ worldwide federation.

Regardless of how the various doping-related cases turn out, Zhukov said a Russian Olympic boycott was out of the question.

“These boycotts just lead to a breakup of the Olympic movement”, he told the AP. “But, on the other hand, if you do take the tough line and walk the walk as well as talking the talk, I think a significant portion of the world would be very pleased”.

The Soviet Union boycotted the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, retaliating for the US -led boycott of the 1980 Games in Moscow that followed the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

UFC heavyweight signee Bilyal Makhov spoke out against the the World Anti-Doping Agency’s suggested ban on Russia’s participation in the Olympics.

According to WADA, the Russian government tampered with the doping results of their athletes during the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

He said last week that, if summer sports were implicated in the McLaren report, the federations would have to decide on the eligibility of Russians “on an individual basis”.

The IOC has said it is seeking legal advice over a blanket ban for the Russian team but Thompson is calling for action.

Mutko’s deputy, Yury Nargornykh, has been suspended along with four other leading sports officials.

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At least one thing became clear on Tuesday as the International Olympic Committee placed Russia’s athletes in a holding pattern high above Rio: it does not want – or trust – Russian Federation to host any major international sporting events.

Cover of Leah Pells Book.'Not About The Medal