After an emergency teleconference on the subject of banning Russia from next month’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the IOC’s executive committee decided not to issue a blanket ban on Russia, but tasked its global federations with judging whether or not each individual Russian competitor meets strict criteria.
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With that in mind, they have set up some pretty high criteria for any Russian athlete hoping to compete at the Olympic games in Rio.
“A line under the matter of Russian track and field athletes participation in the Olympic Games has been drawn”.
The decision was welcomed by Russian athletes and authorities.
“The entry of any Russian athlete ultimately accepted by the International Olympic Committee will be subject to a rigorous additional out-of-competition testing programme in coordination with the relevant IF and WADA. Any non-availability for this programme will lead to the immediate withdrawal of the accreditation by the International Olympic Committee”, the statement added.
Russian athlete Yuliya Stepanova has been barred from running at the Olympics as a “neutral” athlete despite exposing Russia’s doping programme. Travis Tygart of the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) however, was not impressed and expressed frustration over the IOC’s lack of “decisive leadership”.
The IOC says all Russian athletes are tainted by the allegations and will have to prove their innocence in order to compete. “We are very grateful for the decision to consider that instead of collective responsibility, to look at the rights of individual sportspersons”. On that month IAAF temporarily banned Russia Athletics Federation immediately.to lift the ban Russia Athletics Federation applied to IAAF. And I think it is taken in the interests of the unity of world sport and the unity of the Olympic family.
Vitaly Mutko, the Russian sports minister alleged to have been complicit in the doping programme, said he did not expect the rules to have much of an impact.
“I’m sure the majority of our team will comply”, said Mutko.
Russia’s tennis team will be allowed to compete at the Rio Olympics this summer after the International Tennis Federation (ITF) backed the decision not to impose a blanket ban on the country’s competitors.
That “the absence of a positive national anti-doping test can not be considered sufficient” by the federations.
The IOC has instead ruled that decisions on individual competitors will be left to the worldwide sports federations.
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Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko described the decision as “objective” but “very tough”, while the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) claimed the International Olympic Committee had failed to show leadership with its decision.
