Live

Highlights on Off The Ball

07:00 PM-12:00 AM

Highlights on Off The Ball
Advertisement
Off The Ball Radio

Russian athletes will be allowed to compete at Rio Olympics

Russian athletes have not been handed a blanket ban for the Rio Olympics after a report found tha...



Russian athletes will be allow...
Off The Ball Radio

Russian athletes will be allowed to compete at Rio Olympics

Russian athletes have not been handed a blanket ban for the Rio Olympics after a report found that Russia had systematically covered up doping in "all sporting disciplines".

The move comes after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the decision to ban Russia’s track and field athletes from the Games earlier this week.

A World Anti-Doping Agency inquiry found the sports ministry and secret service "directed and oversaw" the manipulation of urine samples, resulting in at least 312 falsified results.

According to the report, the state-sponsored cheating happened after an "abysmal" medal count at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010. 

Over 300 athletes across various disciplines faced being banned from competing at the Games in Rio this summer, but the International Olympic Committee has decided not to issue a blanket ban which would rule them all out of action.

Instead, the governing bodies of individual sports will be left in charge of the decision as to whether Russian athletes within their discipline will be allowed to compete. 

In a statement, the IOC said "given the urgency of the situation, with the Olympic Games Rio 2016 starting in 12 days, and the athletes’ entry process already underway," they will accept entry from athletes in line with a number of conditions

They include that no athlete "who has ever been sanctioned for doping" will be allowed to compete, even if they have already served the ban already, and that the absence of a positive test "cannot be considered sufficient."

In making their decision, the IOC said that Mr Alexander Zhukov, Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) President made a presentation on behalf of the athletes, saying that the ROC "guarantee full cooperation with all international organisations to shed light on the issue in every respect [and] the ROC commits to a complete and comprehensive restructuring of the Russian anti-doping system."

Zhukov also stated that "all Russian athletes selected for the Olympic Games Rio 2016 have been tested over the last six months by foreign anti-doping agencies."

The Games in Rio will begin on August 5th.

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.