A member of the Greek team has been expelled from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics after testing positive for drugs, the country’s Olympic Committee said on Friday.
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The International Olympic Committee confirmed the number in a statement issued in the evening.
Lovtsova’s inclusion forced officials to hastily reissue the starting list for the event, in a sign of the turmoil prompted by a rush of last-minute appeals by banned Russian competitors.
The four-times world champion was handed a lifeline on Thursday when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld her appeal against her ban from the Games, whose preparations have been overshadowed by revelations of widespread state-sponsored doping in Russian Federation.
Earlier Thursday, The International Boxing Association confirmed that all 11 Russian boxers registered for the Games had been cleared to compete by the IOC panel. The court determined that this paragraph resulted in “an additional sanction”, and thus did not respect the athletes’ right of natural justice, nevertheless leaving the issue to determine the eligibility of appellants to the respective sport’s worldwide federations.
But Zhukov said long jumper Darya Klishina will be able to compete.
Russian swimmer Natalia Lovtsova was reinstated at the last minute to the women’s 100 metres butterfly on Saturday after appealing successfully against a doping ban, but trailed in last in her heat.
The applications against the decisions taken by IOC and worldwide sports federations were filed by Anastasia Karabelshikova and Ivan Podshivalov (rowing), as well as Yulia Efimova (swimming).
Although the Russian Weightlifting Federation appealed that decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), its petition was rejected Wednesday.
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“What is more, the team is undergoing additional testing in the Olympic village”, Zhukov said.
