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Russian Weightlifting Team Has Been Banned From Rio Olympics

According to a recently released report from the World Anti-Doping Agency, Russia’s government ran a “systematic scheme” to infuse the Russian team with performance-enhancing drugs and to cover up that cheating, before, during and after the 2014 Winter Olympics, which Russia hosted.

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This ruling means Russian Federation loses four of the boats it qualified – with those places going to Australia (women’s eight), Greece (men’s four) and Italy (women’s sculls and men’s eight) – and can only now form a men’s four with the six eligible rowers it has left. She also won five silver medals, including at least one in every Olympics between 2000 and 2012.

The IOC will only allow a Russian athlete to compete if they satisfy their respective sporting federation that the World Anti-Doping Code has been fully applied.

The sports chief of the Russian Olympic team in Rio says Russian athletes who arrived in Rio early are under scrutiny of WADA doping agents.

Four other Russian lifters were named in the McLaren report.

In doing so, the federation pointed to the multiple cases of doping by the country’s weightlifters.

The International Olympic Committee’s ruling executive board opens a two-day meeting on Saturday, its last formal gathering before next Friday night’s opening ceremony at the Maracana stadium.

“Sixteen of the 17 Russian wrestlers entered to compete at the Olympic Games are cleared to be considered for acceptance by the International Olympic Committee/Court of Arbitration for Sport”, a statement from UWW’s special commission read.

Fencing’s world governing body the FIE said it had “re-examined the results” of the drug tests taken by the 16-strong Russian team over the last two years and all were negative. Tomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, poses for a selfie with Ukrainian air pistol athlete Olena Kostevych before moving into the Olympic village in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 28, 2016.

Morozov said in a letter to FINA president Julio Maglione this week that he had never failed a drug test taken by Russian and global experts.

Morozov, a member of the 4x100m freestyle relay team that took bronze at the 2012 London Games, and Lobintsev, who took silver in the 4x200m freestyle team in Beijing in 2008 and bronze in the 4x100m freestyle in London, have taken their action against the International Olympic Committee and FINA.

Russian president Vladimir Putin is the IJF’s honorary president.

Russian Federation initially selected 387 athletes for Rio, approximately 50 fewer than recent summer Games’, but has already lost nearly 90 of those in the vetting process.

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All Russian weightlifters have been banned from the Rio Olympics due to the doping scandal enveloping the country.

Russia's National Olympic team members attend the farewell ceremony before Russian team's departure to Rio Olympics in Moscow's Sheremetyevo Russia Thursday