Russia’s full Olympic team would consist of 387 athletes.
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Wada had urged the IOC to ban all athletes submitted by the Russian Olympic Committee for both the Rio Games and the Paralympics, with individual exceptions to be considered by the IOC for participation under a neutral flag.
Yulia Stepanova, the key whistleblower in the Russian doping scandal that nearly led to her country being completely excluded from the Rio de Janeiro Games, will miss the Olympics after the runner was controversially ruled out due to her doping past.
“I maintain the view that any actions less than what WADA has recommended at this critical point in time risks Rio being overshadowed by a contagious suspicion of compromised integrity and damaging the reputation of the Olympic movement”, she said, reading from a prepared statement.
Russia’s entire track and field squad has already been barred from Rio following a similar WADA report on “state-supported” doping in that sport.
This has disappointed Pavey, who is set to become the first female track athlete to compete in five consecutive Olympics. “The decision regarding the Russians participating and the confusing mess left in its wake is a significant blow to the rights of clean athletes”.
Although, the IOC did lay down the criteria that must be met by athletes who want to compete in the Olympic Games, including, “an individual analysis of each athlete’s anti-doping record, taking into account only reliable adequate global tests”. Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said the decision made by the IOC was balanced and will benefit the global sport and unity of the Olympic family.
“It was objective and taken in the interests of world sport and the unity of the Olympic family”.
“An athlete should not suffer and should not be sanctioned for a system in which he was not implicated”, Bach told reporters after Sunday’s meeting, acknowledging the decision “might not please everybody”.
“I’m grateful for common sense”.
What have the Russians said?
In a statement issued on its website, the governing body for all Olympic aquatic sport said the McLaren report clearly showed that anti-doping rules “were not implemented correctly in Russia”. “Russian national anthem will not play for me again, and I will not bring joy to my dear fans once again with my pole vaulting”, Isinbayeva wrote on her Instagram. “It is sad how helplessness we are against this lawlessness and outrage”.
The IOC’s announcement on Sunday follows the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) call for a Rio ban in response to the independent McLaren report that found evidence of widespread state-sponsored doping by Russian athletes at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. That ban was recently upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, establishing legal precedent.
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While the decision has been endorsed by some national Olympic committees, it drew criticism from athletes and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which said it would “inevitably lead to … lesser protection for clean athletes”.
