No blanket ban for Russia for Rio games: IOC
AFP
Lausanne, SwitzerlandUpdated: Jul 24, 2016, 04:08 PM IST
Rampant doping sparked Olympic movement's worst crisis in decades. In photo: IOC president Thomas Bach. Photograph:(Getty)
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today decided not to hit Russia with a blanket ban for the Rio Games over state-run doping, but said each sports federation needed to establish a competitor's individual eligibility.
Federations "should carry out an individual analysis of each athlete's anti-doping record, taking into account only reliable adequate international tests, and the specificities of the athlete's sport and its rules, in order to ensure a level playing field," the IOC said in a statement.
It comes after the IOC held showdown talks on whether to ban Russia from the Rio Games over rampant doping that sparked the Olympic movement's worst crisis in decades.
The Russian athletics team was already banned from Rio for state-sponsored doping.
An independent report last week for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said Russia's sports ministry directed a vast doping programme with support from the state intelligence agency that saw thousands of tainted urine samples destroyed or swapped for clean ones.
The cheating affected 30 sports and went on during the 2014 Sochi Winter Games and other major Olympic and international events, according to the WADA report last week by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren.
The Games begin on August 5.
(AFP)
Federations "should carry out an individual analysis of each athlete's anti-doping record, taking into account only reliable adequate international tests, and the specificities of the athlete's sport and its rules, in order to ensure a level playing field," the IOC said in a statement.
It comes after the IOC held showdown talks on whether to ban Russia from the Rio Games over rampant doping that sparked the Olympic movement's worst crisis in decades.
The Russian athletics team was already banned from Rio for state-sponsored doping.
An independent report last week for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said Russia's sports ministry directed a vast doping programme with support from the state intelligence agency that saw thousands of tainted urine samples destroyed or swapped for clean ones.
The cheating affected 30 sports and went on during the 2014 Sochi Winter Games and other major Olympic and international events, according to the WADA report last week by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren.
The Games begin on August 5.
(AFP)