“Sports should be pure, and the health of the athletes should be well-protected”, Vladimir Putin said.
Advertisement
More samples from Beijing and London, aimed at medal winners, are due to be retested while the Rio Games are under way.
In its ruling, the Court of Arbitration for Sport found that track and field’s world governing body, the IAAF, had properly applied its own rules in keeping the Russians out of the games that begin August 5.
The decision by the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) increases the possibility that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will now exclude Russian Federation from all sports, not just track and field, in Rio de Janeiro.
The Russians had argued against a collective ban, saying it punishes those athletes who have not been accused of wrongdoing.
“Today’s judgment has created a level playing field for athletes”, the IAAF said in a statement.
“While we are thankful that our rules and our power to uphold our rules and the anti-doping code have been supported, this is not a day for triumphant statements”, IAAF president Sebastian Coe said.
However, some Russian athletes may compete under the neutral International Olympic Committee flag if they meet certain requirements, such as being tested repeatedly overseas.
And there is another complexity to the CAS ruling in that the panel accepts it does not have jurisdiction over the International Olympic Committee as it was not a party to this appeal.
“The door is open for the International Olympic Committee to decide, to determine even on a case-by-case principle, whether these athletes are eligible or not”, CAS general secretary Mattieu Reeb said.
Last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev also intervened, urging International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach to spare clean athletes in a letter released by Match TV sports channel.
Russian Federation faces being kicked out of the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro in the latest disciplinary action by a sports body infuriated at growing evidence about the country’s state-sponsored doping program.
The IOC will meet on Sunday to consider the punishment on Russian Federation after a new WADA report accused the country of “wide spread state sponsored doping” at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games.
That followed the publication of an independent World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) report that showed a culture of widespread, state-sponsored doping, with even the Russian secret service involved.
Nineteen samples from the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games have also been sent for immediate further analysis after they were identified by Professor Richard McLaren’s investigation team as having been potentially doctored.
The IOC’s executive board is holding its second emergency meeting to discuss the crisis on Sunday and has promised to resolve the matter by Wednesday, which would be just over a week before Rio’s opening ceremony.
The IOC is expected to reach a final decision within the next week and has said it will take the CAS ruling into account. “It’s a tough decision to make but we’ll have to leave it to them to make that decision”. “You’re not welcome, ‘” Pound said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
Russian track and field athletes remain banned from global competitions, including the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio.
The other anti-doping agencies that signed the letter represent Austria, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
“Beyond Rio, the IAAF taskforce will continue to work with Russia to establish a clean safe environment for its athletes so that its federation and team can return to global recognition and competition.” he concluded. Initially, 68 Russian athletes had appealed against the IAAF, but only Darya Klishina, the US-based long jumper got the green flag to take part in Rio.
“Rules are rules and doping violations in track and field are getting really bad, so thumbs up”.
Advertisement
The IOC did not say if any of the London athletes had won medals. “They have always feared (our) strength”. “I know I’m in good shape”.
