It had also ordered the immediate re-testing of all Russian athletes from the Sochi Olympics and instructed worldwide winter sports federations to halt preparations for major events in Russia.
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Individual decision on Russian athletes will be taken by relevant global federations.
Less than two weeks before the start of the Rio Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ruled against barring Russia from the Olympics but did approve measures that could reduce the number of Russian athletes participating.
“It is fair to ban from the Olympics those Russian athletes who have been sanctioned for doping abuses”, he told journalists. The Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in Brazil from August 5-21 and September 7-18 respectively.
The IOC had said that disciplinary proceedings would be opened against Russian officials mentioned in the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) McLaren report on Monday.
Federations will have to carry out an individual analysis of each athlete’s anti-doping record “taking into account only reliable adequate global tests, and the specificities of the athlete’s sport and its rules”.
But the I-O-C said Russian Federation is barred from entering any athlete who has ever been sanctioned for doping.
Swimmer Rebecca Adlington and hurdler Sally Gunnell are also among the signatories who have endorsed a letter sent by The Times newspaper to the International Olympic Committee which urged them to ban Russian Federation from Rio.
The IOC on Sunday instead ruled that the governing bodies of each sport represented at the Olympics must judge whether to accept or exclude athletes from Russian Federation. The shock decision – made after a meeting of the IOC’s executive board on yesterday – comes despite Richard McLaren’s sensational, damning report into their state-sponsored doping programme.
“If you do have Russian athletes competing in other sports, the focus of the media are going to be on the Russian athletes in Rio and not the athletes who have proven to be clean and above board”.
The “Chef De Mission” of the Australian Olympic Team, Kitty Chiller, said the decision to allow Russian Federation to compete was the right one.
However, at its second emergency meeting in a week, the IOC’s executive board opted against a collective sanction and asked all global sports federations affected by Russia’s cheating to make their own judgments on eligibility against a set of strict criteria.
“In a nutshell, the presumption of innocence can not be applied to them, there is insufficient time for hearings with the Games so close.
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It shows it is determined to fight doping but also mindful of its charter to protect the rights of all athletes, which in this case are the clean and innocent Russian athletes”.
