The IOC ruled on Sunday not to ban the entire Russian Olympic team from the participation in the August 5-21 games in Brazil, helping Russian athletes escape a blanket ban.
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The 200m butterfly swimmer has expressed his disappointment labelling the decision “an absolute cop out from the IOC”, and is urging athletes not to share the podium with any Russian medallists.
“It’s a significant blow to the fight for integrity in the Olympic movement and the rights of clean athletes”, he said.
But the country’s national anti-doping agency was scathing.
“I also feel a little surprised that more athletes are not more vocal about this, especially those with a powerful voice in Olympic sport”, he said.
Drug Free Sport New Zealand chief executive Graeme Steel blasted the IOC’s decision to “pass the hot potato to worldwide federations”.
WADA president Craig Reedie said the organization is “disappointed that the IOC did not heed WADA’s executive committee recommendations” after investigators “exposed, beyond a reasonable doubt, a state-run doping program in Russian Federation that seriously undermines the principles of clean sport”.
Bach said the International Olympic Committee decision considered the severity of the misconduct while also sending “a message of encouragement to clean Russian athletes”.
Track and field athletes will not be allowed to compete for the country in Brazil, but the International Olympic Committee executive board confirmed on Sunday that a full ban will not come into effect.
The IOC executive implemented what Bach termed a rigorous set of criteria for each Russian Olympic hopeful.
First, athletes must be individually cleared by their respective sports federation and there should be no presumption of innocence. These decisions will then be reviewed by an arbiter from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.The punishment for the culprits has not been decided yet but it can impact their careers in a negative way.
Isinbayeva, who now believes she has virtually no chance of being elected to the IOC Athletes’ Commission, also called for Stepanova to be “banned for life”.
While the Kremlin sees a Western conspiracy behind the ban on their track and field athletes, other competitors see the part-inclusion of Russian teams as undermining the spirit of the Olympics.
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Immediately following the IOC announcement, the International Tennis Federation said eight players already met the eligibility requirements.
