Around a third of Russia’s original list of 389 competitors were barred, most on suspicion of doping, the BBC reports.
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Critics had called for the entire team to be banned to show systematic cheating is unacceptable.
Many British newspapers also took aim at the IOC, Bach, Russia and its President Vladimir Putin. The U.S. team is the largest with 556 athletes.
Russia’s track and field team had already been suspended in separate action by the sport’s governing body, the IAAF, following similar revelations of state-backed doping previous year. Some Russians who have been banned are appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which has opened an office in the host city.
But even if they fail to get over that hurdle, their case set a clear precedent and it was not long before Russia’s four-time world swimming champion Yulia Efimova had her appeal partially upheld for the same reasons. She had turned whistleblower on doping practices in Russian Federation.
With only athletics, rowing, weightlifting and canoeing taking a hard line, the final size of the Russian team was announced at 271.
The Cas said an International Olympic Committee rule barring Russian athletes with a prior doping conviction from competing was unenforceable and could open the door for up to 12 athletes to appeal their bans, including the swimmer Yuliya Efimova.
The IOC’s choices in disciplining Russian Federation have been controversial, and are likely to fuel debate for months to come, as an overhaul of the anti-doping system is anticipated. Footballers can vote at the five venues outside Rio, and the result will be revealed on August 18. “It’s a mess, and exhibit “A” of how truly incapable sport is of policing itself”.
It said the rule did not respect the athletes’ right of natural justice. The Olympics provide more than gold and glory; they remind us of the strength of our diversity and the triumph of the human spirit.
Bach and fellow Olympic executives rejected that option, which he defended this week by saying he wanted to avoid the “death and devastation” it would have produced. We reversed the presumption of innocence. “You can not answer to a violation of a law by another violation of a law”.
Bach noted that the International Olympic Committee stands justice for the athletes and that politics should have no room in handing down their decisions to cases presented before them. They detailed proof of a state-sponsored system that helped Russians avoid positive tests.
WADA spokesperson, Ben Nichols, told CNN Wednesday, meanwhile, that his organization had been consistent in recommending an all-out ban that was supported widely by governments, athletes and the public.
“I want to tell you that our teams will take part in a majority of the sports at the Olympic Games with full participation”, Alexander Zhukov, the head of Russia’s Olympic Committee said. As New Yorkers, we are proud of all of our Olympic athletes and their extraordinary perseverance and strength. “Is this not discrimination?” he said.
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With this, CAS has overruled one of the IOC’s criteria set to determine which Russian athletes will be allowed to participate in Rio. “It’s a good question”, he said, shrugging as he guessed.
