The IOC recently rejected calls from anti-doping organizations to ban Russia’s entire team following a report by a World Anti-Doping Agency investigator that detailed evidence of state-directed doping and cover-ups. The CAS decision could force other federations, who were asked by the International Olympic Committee to recommend which Russians could compete, to reconsider their lists.
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An expert from the Court of Arbitration of Sport checked the results, which then went to a three-member International Olympic Committee panel headed by medical commission chief Ugur Erdener for final approval.
She was ruled out of the Rio Games when the International Olympic Committee chose to ban any Russian who had served a doping ban.
But the Russian Olympic Committee has been celebrating every extra athlete added to the Rio contest by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in recent days.
Although there are still more Russian athletes undergoing a drug test to qualify for an Olympic spot, the IOC panel has yet to deliver the final verdict on the merits of their cases. “The majority of the sports have been admitted in full”. Russian cyclist Ilnur Zakarin was cleared for the Rio Olympics but he will not participate as he had no possibility to prepare for the Games.
Some of the sports that will see Russians compete in them include boxing, swimming, judo, shooting and golf.
The respective governing bodies of athletics and weightlifting, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the International Weightlifting Federation, had already decided that no Russian athletes will take part in their sports during the Games.
“Yes, sure”, Zamolodchikova told AFP at the Russia House team base at Rio’s Copacabana, when asked if they would stay in the top 10.
Zhukov also said it was unfair that Russian sports stars such as double Olympic champion pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva would now watch the Games from home while past doping offenders including top United States runner Justin Gatlin took to the field. CAS said the rule “does not respect the athletes’ right of natural justice”.
“It is hard to reconcile this with (the IOC’s) stated aim to provide the athletes with an opportunity to rebut the principle of presumption of guilt and to recognise natural justice”, a CAS statement said.
The applications against the decisions taken by IOC and global sports federations were filed by Anastasia Karabelshikova and Ivan Podshivalov (rowing), as well as Yulia Efimova (swimming).
We’ll update this post if appeals change anything.
“The Russian team may have experienced the toughest checks of the Olympics, because they had to go through multiple tests and [checks]”, Zhukov said.
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And it means athletes banned from Rio because they have previously been sanctioned for doping could now challenge the decision to make them stay at home. “I think this tense atmosphere has done us some good”.
