Competing in judo, Misenga is one of 10 refugee athletes who will march as a team behind the white Olympic flag when the Rio de Janeiro Games open on Friday at the opening ceremony, a first for any Olympics.
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Russian Rowing Federation head Veniamin But tells The Associated Press by telephone that he plans to go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport next week to try to overturn the ruling from World Rowing.
“They’re now in Portugal”, But said.
After the World Anti-Doping Agency accused the Russian government of directing a vast doping cover-up, the International Olympic Committee said it would not allow Russians to compete in Rio if they had previously been banned for doping, were implicated in the alleged cover-up or had not been tested often enough internationally. “The miracle didn’t happen”. She also was suspended for doping from 2008 to 2010.
But adds that his rowers “are training and are ready to travel” to Rio at short notice if they win their case.
Viktor Lebedev, who won gold at the World Championships in 2010 and 2011, had been among the favourites for a medal in wrestling’s 57kg freestyle division after winning gold at the European Games previous year.
Chinese athletes have been forced to fit their own shower curtain just six days before the start of the Rio Olympics.
Two of the eight-strong weightlifting team had already been banned for doping violations, and another four were named in the McLaren report into doping.
Russia’s largest losses are in track and field, with 67 of 68 athletes barred, while the situation remains unclear in some sports, notably weightlifting and boxing.
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Aside from athletics, where all bar Florida-based Darya Klishina have been banned from competing at Rio, weightlifting is the only other sport to exclude all Russians after each individual governing body was asked to make a call on a sport-by-sport basis. He still talks of competing for his country of birth – maybe at the next Olympics.
