“Under these exceptional circumstances, Russian athletes in any of the 28 Olympic summer sports have to assume the consequences of what amounts to a collective responsibility in order to protect the credibility of the Olympic competitions, and the “presumption of innocence” can not be applied to them”, the IOC said.
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While the decision has been endorsed by some national Olympic committees, it drew criticism from athletes and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which said it would “inevitably lead to … lesser protection for clean athletes”.
The AOC endorsed the decision not to apply a blanket ban on all Russian athletes, with team leader Kitty Chiller saying, “The IOC has set down a very strict criteria and the Russians still need to clear the high hurdles to be able to participate in Rio”.
There are over 300 Russian athletes outside of track and field that have qualified for the Rio games this year, though the odds of them being disqualified by individual sports federations seems like a long shot because, as we said, the games are just 12 days away. CAS dismissed the appeal by the Russian Olympic Committee against the IAAF Thursday.
“We the organisers will welcome all athletes who come here to compete”, Nuzman added. 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.
He also retweeted a post from Former Australian Sports Anti-doping Authority boss Richard Ings in the wake of the decision, protesting the result.
Adding to the already endless laundry list of controversies surrounding the 2016 Rio Olympics, another issue is plaguing organizers as some athletes… The IOC said the McLaren report had made no direct accusations against the Russian Olympic Committee “as an institution”. Individual decisions on Russian athletes have been referred to relevant worldwide federations. “Surely IOC’s job is to make crucial decisions rather than passing the buck”, Hoy tweeted.
Any Russian athlete who has ever served a suspension for a doping infraction will be banned even if that suspension has been completed, the International Olympic Committee said.
And Vladimir Putin’s Russian Federation is a sports powerhouse, a huge country seeking to reaffirm its status on the world stage, and a major player in the Olympic movement.
While Russian gymnasts limbered up for the Rio games, a doping scandal threatens to exclude their fellow sportsmen.
“The McLaren Report and other details that have since emerged are deeply shocking and absolutely appalling”, Ms Anderson said. She will instead be invited to Rio as a “guest”.
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Accordingly, WADA recommends to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to consider, under their respective Charters, to decline entries, for Rio 2016, of all athletes submitted by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and the Russian Paralympic Committee.
