Gathering in advance of the 2016 Summer Games, members of the International Olympic Committee confirmed their support Tuesday for the decision not to bar Russian Federation from the upcoming competition.
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All but one – Adam Pengilly of Britain – voted their approval.
“AIBA has carried out an individual analysis of the anti-doping record of each of the 11 Russian boxers qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games” AIBA said in a statement on Thursday.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the IOC’s general assembly, Bach also said a blanket ban for Russian Federation was described by some as the nuclear option which would have had disastrous consequences.
“The result is death and devastation”.
“On top of all that, Russian athletes are going through additional testing which is taking place at the Olympic village. This is not what the Olympic movement stands for”.
“What is therefore not acceptable is the insinuation by some proponents of this “nuclear option” that anyone who does not share their opinion is not fighting against doping”.
Some 100 Russians have been barred from the Rio Games.
The 22 “are not at all considered to have participated in doping, but do not meet the conditions established by the IOC in their decision of 24 July 2016 for participation in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games”, the federation said.
“Natural justice does not allow us to deprive a human being of the right to prove their innocence”, Bach said. Bach predicted this week that Rio will put on “great” Games, despite the doping scandal and multiple problems the organisers have faced preparing facilities for the 10,500 expected athletes.
WADA President Craig Reedie, who is a vice president of the International Olympic Committee and was sitting close to Bach during his address, chose not to give an immediate response to the comments. The IOC calls for a more robust and efficient anti-doping system.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport partially upheld the appeal, sending the case back to the International Rowing Federation to decide on their eligibility “without delay”.
“The IOC has no authority to declare any organization non-compliant with the WADA code”. The IOC has no authority over the testing program of athletes outside the Olympic Games.
The Games’ ruling body said on Saturday those decisions would now be reviewed by an independent panel consisting of Ugur Erdener, the IOC’s medical commission chairman, Germany’s Claudia Bokel and fellow International Olympic Committee member Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr.
“I believe that this delay by WADA and the failure to investigate serious and credible allegations more swiftly has left the sports movement … in a very hard position facing incredibly hard decisions in an impossible timeframe”.
Italy’s Mario Pescante even suggested WADA had been “more interested in publicity and self-promotion than doing its job to ensure clean sport”.
WADA chief Craig Reedie, who is also an IOC Vice President, has defended his organisation’s actions, saying it acted once concrete facts were made available.
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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has relented and will allow most of the Russian athletes gathered in Rio to compete in the Olympic Games.
