Of those samples, 17 were from athletes that do not compete in sports on the Paralympic program.
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Cape Town – Russia have been issued a blanket ban for the Paralympics in Rio, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced.
Now, the Russian NPC has 21 days to appeal to the IPC on the decision.
The world’s largest country now has 21 days to appeal against the IPC’s decision to suspend the Russian Paralympic Committee – a measure that means Russian Paralympic athletes can not compete in any IPC-sanctioned event – but Craven is confident his board’s unanimous decision will resist any legal challenge.
“As a result, the Russian Paralympic Committee is suspended with immediate effect”.
Russia’s years of doping deception, including tampering with samples at the 2014 Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi, were outlined last month by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) ruled against banning the entire able-bodied team from Russia and instead left it up to the international federations to decide which of the country’s athlete were eligible to take part.
The Russian Paralympic Committee is expected to appeal the Paralympic ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, according to BBC Sport.
“It is a decision that has taken a huge burden off our shoulders”.
“Ultimately, as the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement, it is our responsibility to ensure fair competition, so that athletes can have confidence that they are competing on a level playing field”.
“It shows a blatant disegard for the health and well-being of athletes and, quite simply, has no place in Paralympic sport”. Their thirst for glory at all costs has severely damaged the integrity and image of all sport.
The move will come as a blow to the 267 Russians entered into the Paralympics.
“But we have to think of all the athletes and the Paralympic movement and if the threat is there, we’ve got to respond”.
He said: “This is not about individuals and not about individual sports, this is about two state-sponsored doping systems, so this affects the whole of Russia but it definitely affects the Russian Paralympic Committee”.
The Olympic Games, which opened Friday, run through August 21 in Rio, while the the Paralympics will be held in the city from September 7 through 18.
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The British Paralympic Association said it “congratulates the IPC on taking a clear stand based on the evidence provided to the McLaren report and their own subsequent investigation”.
