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Russian athletes affected by Rio bans
Sixteen of 17 Russian wrestlers were cleared to compete in the Rio Olympics by global governing body United World Wrestling (UWW).
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Weightlifting and athletics are the only two sports to have excluded all Russian competitors.
The IOC executive committee decided not to ban the Russian team.
Russia had originally planned to send a 387-person team, but that has steadily been reduced as federations removed those who had previously served doping bans and those implicated in World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren’s report alleging a massive cover-up of failed drug tests.
The International Weightlifting Federation said the “integrity of the sport has been seriously damaged on multiple times and levels by the Russians”.
The banned London weightlifting silver medallists, named for the first time by the IWF, were Russians Alexandr Ivanov, Nataliya Zabolotnaya and Svetlana Tzarukaeva.
Bulgaria’s weightlifters had already been excluded from the Olympics past year, after 11 lifters at a training camp tested positive.
Russian Federation won six medals in total in weightlifting at the 2012 Olympics in London, but none of their athletes managed to capture the gold.
On Thursday cycling’s governing body, the UCI, became the latest worldwide federation to declare on Russian athletes’ eligibility for Rio, approving 11 cyclists but rejecting six others – three for previous bans and three because they were named as being on a list of “protected athletes” in the McLaren report.
Former Russian Anti-Doping Agency official Vitaly Stepanov recently said “there will be athletes who have used doping from Russia at Rio” but this was nonetheless an opportunity for those found guilty to showcase their talents on home soil.
“Pole Vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva will not compete”, he added, referring to the two-time Olympic champion who launched a public campaign to have her ban lifted, only to be denied.
Stepanova says while she feels sorry for her fellow Russian athletes – that they were born into this system – she can’t understand why they have remained silent. Worldwide sports federations must now remove any athlete previously banned for doping or who was implicated in last week’s McLaren report alleging a mass cover-up of failed drug tests.
Diana Taurasi scored 14 points and Elena Delle Donne added 12 to help the USA women’s basketball team beat Canada 83-43 on Friday night in an exhibition game.
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Felix, who hurt her right ankle during training this spring, was at less than 100 percent earlier this month at the U.S. Olympic trials.