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IOC bans 118 Russian athletes from Rio on day before Games begin

“Today there is no cleaner and more regulated team than Russia’s”.

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Russia entered 389 athletes but many competitors implicated in last month’s bombshell World Anti-Doping Agency report, which uncovered state-backed drug cheating, have been eliminated by sports federations.

Bach said all global sports federations had to be informed before a final list could be released.

Russian Olympic Committee President Alexander Zhukov said Wednesday he expected between 272 and 280 Russian athletes would be cleared.

Even as the debate continues, the cloud over the doping issue is not dominating the moment for others as the Games begin.

The incident occurred on the Avenida das Americas, the main thoroughfare between the Olympic Park and the city centre, at around midday on Thursday just after the torch relay had passed by the street on its way to the Olympic stadium.

The IOC confirmed that 271 Russian athletes have been cleared to compete at the Rio Games.

A week later, the International Olympic Committee chose to have the sports federations rule on who could compete in Rio based on McLaren’s evidence and special criteria, such as not nominating any Russian with a previous sanction.

A man reported to be a diplomat has shot and killed a Brazilian who attempted to rob him in Rio de Janeiro, according to local police and media.

But Zhukov said long jumper Darya Klishina will be able to compete.

29 Russian swimmers are set to compete, in what will be one of the bigger teams for the nation.

The court said the bans were unenforceable because an athlete can not be sanctioned twice for the same doping offense.

The world’s top Olympic official also said that all collected doping samples from the upcoming Summer Olympics in Brazil would be stored for the next ten years and would be subjected for re-tests at any moment.

CAS rejected the athletes’ appeal to be granted direct entry into the games, saying it was now up to the global rowing and swimming federations to decide whether to let them in or not. “No athletes from any country… had the rules changed to bar those previously guilty of doping”.

While all Russian weightlifters have been banned, all of the country’s boxers have been allowed to compete.

The uncertainty this back and forth has caused led to a war of words between WADA and the International Olympic Committee in recent days over who was to blame for the uncertainty.

Bach reiterated his call for a full review of the global anti-doping system to make it more efficient and independent.

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Olympic doping lab