The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will hold swiftly convened hearings in Rio to decide on the appeals by the two, both medal winners for Russian Federation at past Olympics. About 70 Russian athletes left Moscow on Thursday for Rio de Janeiro to take part in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
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All of Russia’s weightlifters were banned from the Rio Olympics on Friday for doping for what the global federation called “extremely shocking” results that brought the sport into ” disrepute”.
It was earlier this month, after the doping claims surfaced, that the International Olympic Committee set criteria for the eligibility of Russians to compete in Rio.
Russian athletes also have to have been tested for drugs outside of Russia to prove they are clean. The IOC is still in shock over attacks for not ordering a blanket ban on Russian athletes following an inquiry by Canadian lawyer Richard McLean for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said it received appeals from Vladimir Morozov and Nikita Lobintsev, both seeking to overturn their bans over state-sponsored doping allegations.
The move by the two Olympic medal winners was announced on July 30 as IOC began two days of talks on fallout from the Russian Federation doping crisis. The International Weightlifting Federation banned all eight Russian contenders – five men and three women – entered for Rio.
Stepanov said he had expected the IOC decision because the worldwide body “will not support anyone who betrays doping or corruption”.
The IOC has been roundly criticized by anti-doping bodies, athletes groups and Western media for not imposing a total ban on Russian Federation.
Russian weightlifters will not be allowed to compete at the Olympics after the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) elected to ban them from the upcoming Games.
The figure was just 18 percent when Rio won the right to host the Olympic Games in 2009.
“This review panel will look at every single decision of every single athlete to make sure that the International Olympic Committee is happy with the decision that’s been taken, that they’ve made all of these different levels of steps and that the decision by the ICAS arbitrator is also putting that forward. He once said, ‘I use boxing because it’s a platform to get to people.’ Muhammad Ali showed how champion athletes can champion justice”, Ban said.
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“The same as any Olympic Games, we expect in the first days to see if something needs to be done”, he said.
