For individuals to be allowed to compete at Rio they must have a spotless global record on drug testing, the IOC said, adding athletes who have been sanctioned in the past for doping will not be eligible.
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The IOC had faced widespread pressure for tough action against Russian Federation, which denied any state role in the doping.
“The Russian athletes who are here will have proved their innocence, it’s out of our hands now, we need to accept the decision, move on and focus on our own performances”, she said.
“The ITF will be seeking confirmation from WADA that none of those players, or the Russian Tennis Federation, were implicated in the McLaren report, in accordance with the International Olympic Committee decision”, added the ITF statement. This means that these bodies, along with the 26 other federations, will have to carry out individual analysis of each athlete’s anti-doping record, using the approved and qualified testing methods, while respecting the rules of their respective sport. The ITF said the players have been subject to a rigorous anti-doping programme outside Russian Federation, which it considers sufficient to meet the IOC’s requirements.
All of Russia’s track and field athletes have already been banned by that sport’s governing body, a decision that was upheld on Thursday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. A country’s entire delegation has never been banned from an Olympics for cheating, though Russia’s team will likely be severely diminished.
The IOC also rejected the application by Russian whistleblower Yulia Stepanova, the 800-meter runner and former doper who helped expose the doping scandal in her homeland, to compete under a neutral flag at the games.
Travis Tygart of the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) however, was not impressed and expressed frustration over the IOC’s lack of “decisive leadership”.
Coe, who is not now an IOC member, said on Twitter that the “IAAF team was ready to offer advice to any International Sports Federations given our experience and what we have learned over [sic] past 8 months”. Instead of an across-the-board ban, the International Olympic Committee is allowing individual sports federations to decide whether Russian competitors should be allowed to participate on a case-by-case basis.
The WADA investigation revealed that Russia’s sport ministry directed and oversaw a doping program that represented a “shocking and unprecedented attack on the integrity of sport and on the Olympic Games”, according to Bach.
“I just want our athletes to stay focused, urging them to concentrate on their own performance, wipe Russian Federation from their mind”.
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The games get underway on 5th of next month.
