With more of his athletes being banned from the Rio Olympics each day, Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed the furore around his country’s state-backed, systemic doping program.
Advertisement
Putin was addressing athletes at the Kremlin before the Russian Olympic team was due to fly out to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Thursday, while dozens of the track and field athletes who are not eligible to compete in the Rio Games also attended.
Yelena Isinbayeva, world-record holder in the pole vault who is among the track and field athletes barred from the Games, could not hide her tears in her speech that followed Putin’s.
“This campaign that targets our country’s athletes includes the use of notorious double standards and the principle of collective responsibility, or, as was said, “reversal of the presumption of innocence”, Putin said on Wednesday.
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach (centre) sits at a sidewalk cafe next to Rio 2016 organising committee communications director Mario Andrada in downtown Rio de Janeiro July 27, 2016.
“We can’t accept indiscriminate disqualification of our athletes with an absolutely clean doping history”, Putin said.
Continuing his address, Putin told his audience “your colleagues from other sports powers realize that the value of their medals will be different”, because “this victory will have a different taste – or no taste at all”.
Russian fencers are cleared to compete at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics after the sport’s governing body found no grounds to exclude any of the team for doping. The International Triathlon Union said the three men and three women who qualified for Rio are not mentioned in the McLaren report and have not served past doping suspensions.
The IOC said the channel, a free digital platform, would be available “anytime, anywhere and on any device, at the conclusion of the Olympic Games Rio 2016”.
About half of the 31 buildings in the complex had problems, including water leaks, blocked toilets and wiring issues.
Paes kissed Australia delegation chief Kitty Chiller on the cheek, handed her a symbolic key to the city and apologized for the construction hiccups, which included blocked toilets, unsafe wiring and leaks. Problems here could make village problems seems small.
The Australian women’s eight crew will arrive in Rio on August 5 – the day of the opening ceremony – and just three days before their first heat.
“Australia was right”, he said.
The arrest on Wednesday came a week after police arrested 12 people who allegedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. The Warriors announced the injury Wednesday and said that Varejao should be ready for the start of training camp but will not be healthy enough to play in the Olympics. Paes gave delegation head Kitty Chiller the keys to the city, and a doll representing the official mascot Vinicius.
The digital platform will look to maintain interest in the Games year-round – especially in the two-year period between summer and winter Olympics – with original programming, live events, news and highlights.
Advertisement
OAKLAND, Calif. – Center Anderson Varejao will miss the Olympics for host Brazil because of a herniated disc in his lower back.
