Russia team escape blanket ban from IOC for Rio Olympic Games
Source: The Guardian
The International Olympic Committee has decided against a blanket ban on Russian athletes from competing in Rio – ruling instead to allow the 28 individual federations that compromise the summer Games to decide their fate.
Russian athletes will be allowed to go to Rio if they satisfy their sport’s governing body they are able to prove “to the full satisfaction of his of her International Federation” that they are demonstrably clean. However, crucially, the IOC has raised the bar on Russian entry by deciding that “the absence of a positive national anti-doping test cannot be considered sufficient by the IFs.”
Instead, individual federations are required to “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.” With 12 days to go before the Olympics is due to start, each sport will be up against it.
The Russian Olympic Committee will not also be allowed to enter any athlete for the Olympic Games in Rio who has ever been sanctioned for doping, even if he or she has served the sanction.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jul/24/russia-team-escape-blanket-ban-ioc-rio-olympic-games
Sounds like the IOC has created a mess, either ban the entire team or ban nobody. It's been shown that the Russian team cheated across the board in Sochi, they infiltrated the anti-doping lab and substituted clean samples, they deserve a total ban.
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