The IOC decision essentially offloads the burden of dealing with Russian athletes on individual sports federations, though the worldwide organization did rule that Russian athletes who have committed prior doping violations would be ineligible for the Olympics. “In this way we protect these clean athletes”, IOC President Thomas Bach said Sunday in a call to reporters.
Advertisement
The Committee, however, left it up to the respective global federations to decide whether individual Russian athletes should be allowed to compete at the Rio Olympics.
Archery was not implicated in the World Anti-Doping Agency report released last week by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren, which accused Russian Federation of covering up doping in 20 summer Olympic sports.
The International Modern Pentathlon Union says that Maxim Kustov and Ilya Frolov were mentioned in World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren’s report last week as having allegedly had positive tests covered up by Russian authorities.
“All National Olympic Committees must be held accountable and be the standard-bearers for their nations”, Smith said.
Boxing’s governing body, AIBA, said it was examining Russia’s entrants. The Association of National Olympic Committees also backed the IOC, with ANOC president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah saying an all-out ban “would have unfairly punished many clean athlete”.
The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said it “has taken note” of the IOC ruling and “shall fully adhere to it”.
Bach said the International Olympic Committee decision considered the severity of the misconduct while also sending “a message of encouragement to clean Russian athletes”. The IOC executive implemented what Bach termed a rigorous set of criteria for each Russian Olympic hopeful.
The Budapest-based IWF said “some points might lead to confusion” regarding the International Olympic Committee ruling giving individual sports federations the responsibility of deciding who can compete in Rio.
World Archery said it was satisfied that the three female Russian archers nominated for the games had been tested “extensively” and have never been sanctioned for doping.
First, athletes must be individually cleared by their respective sports federation and there should be no presumption of innocence.
At least 85 athletes from the 387-strong Russian Olympic team announced last week have so far been barred from the Rio Games in connection with the country’s doping scandal. Efimova’s agent, Andrei Mitkov, told Russia’s Sportbox website that she meant to file an appeal if she was not allowed to compete.
Second, the athlete must submit to a mandatory anti-doping test overseen by FINA and performed outside of Russian Federation.
Nikita Lobintsev, Vladimir Morozov and Daria Ustinova have been rejected because their names appeared in Richard McLaren’s damning report into state-directed doping.
Advertisement
Russians “have to clear the highest hurdles in order to have chance to compete in the Olympic Games”, he added. Mutko told the R-Sport news agency he was “absolutely sure that the majority of the Russian team will meet the criteria”. Immediately following the IOC announcement, the International Tennis Federation said eight players already met the eligibility requirements.
