IOC Decides Against Complete Ban on Russian Athletes

IOC Decides Against Complete Ban on Russian Athletes

The International Olympic Committee has decided against a complete ban on Russian athletes from the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The committee says it will l

Jul 24, 2016 by Taylor Dutch
IOC Decides Against Complete Ban on Russian Athletes
The International Olympic Committee has decided against a complete ban on Russian athletes from the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The committee says it will leave it up to each sport's respective federation to decide which Russian athletes can compete in their sports, according to the Associated Press. 

The IOC says it will deny entry of Russian athletes who don't fit the requirements set out by the federations, and that the federations have the authority to exclude Russian teams as a whole from their sports.

IOC President Thomas Bach led a teleconference between Olympic leaders in Lausanne, Switzerland on Sunday to determine the fate of Russian athletes from all sports. 

“An athlete should not suffer and should not be sanctioned for a system in which he was not implicated,” Bach said on the IOC’s decision.

Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko says that “the majority” of Russia’s team complies with the IOC’s criteria on doping. 

The IOC established extra criteria for Russian athletes which excludes any athletes who have served a previous ban. Some of the extra criteria includes, “a rigorous additional out-of-competition testing programme in coordination with the relevant International Federation and WADA.”

“[The criteria] are very tough, but that’s a kind of challenge for our team…I’m sure the majority of our team will comply,” Mutko said.

Track and field has already received a ban by the International Association of Athletics Federation, which was upheld by the Court of Arbitration last week.

The CAS rejected the appeal of 68 Russian athletes seeking to overturn the ban imposed by the IAAF. The ban was a result of a series of investigations that revealed a state-sponsored, widespread doping culture. 

On Sunday, the IOC determined that “entry will be accepted by the IOC only if an athlete is able to provide evidence to the full satisfaction of his or her International Federation (IF) in relation to the following criteria: The IFs, when establishing their pool of eligible Russian athletes, to apply the World Anti-Doping Code and other principles agreed by the Olympic Summit.”

The IOC also examined the case of Russian track athlete and whistle-blower Iuliia Stepanova, who requested to compete at the Olympic Games as a neutral athlete.

After consulting with the IOC Ethics Commission, the IOC executive board determined that Stepanova would not be allowed to compete in the Olympic Games this summer. 

“While it is true that Mrs. Stepanova's testimony and public statements have made a contribution to the protection and promotion of clean athletes, fair play and the integrity and authenticity of sport, the Rules of the Olympic Charter related to the organization of the Olympic Games run counter to the recognition of the status of neutral athlete,” the IOC wrote in a statement. 

“Furthermore, the sanction to which she was subject and the circumstances in which she denounced the doping practices which she had used herself, do not satisfy the ethical requirements for an athlete to enter the Olympic Games.”