Olympic ban on Russia's track and field team upheld
Russia's track and field team won't be competing in the Rio 2016 Olympics, an appeals court has ruled.
And that decision could pave the way for the entire Russian contingent to be banned ahead of next month's Games.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled Thursday morning that track and field's governing body, the IAAF, was within its rights to ban 68 track and field athletes from Russian over allegations of a massive, state-sponsored doping scheme.
The ruling could also impact other Russian athletes, as other governing bodies for individual sports could follow suit -- potentially shutting Russia out of the Games altogether. The IOC, which said it "takes note" of the ruling, could also potentially decide on a pre-emptive overall ban.
Well done CAS + IAAF for standing firm. Now IOC need to ban all of Russia sport from the Games. #drugfreesport https://t.co/Tk8XE0njxh
— Aly Dixon (@alydixon262) July 21, 2016
"We will now have to study and analyze the full decision," a statement from the International Olympic Committee said, according to AP. It adds that a "decision on the participation of the Russian athletes will be taken in the coming days."
The IOC has scheduled an executive board meeting Sunday to weigh its options.
A sendoff ceremony planned for Friday has been cancelled, according to the Russian team's chef de mission for Rio, Igor Kazikov, who told the R-Sports news agency "we need to see what's what" before making new plans.
Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko blasted the decision, telling the Tass news agency "In my view, it's a subjective decision, somewhat political and one with no legal basis."
Usain Bolt says Russian athletes being banned from Rio Olympics will "scare a lot of people" thinking about doping.https://t.co/PpcZZBOwvA
— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) July 21, 2016
Yelena Isinbayeva, a two-time Olympic champion pole vaulter, called the decision "funeral of athletics." She represented Russian athletes at Tuesday's appeal and after hearing the ruling, she appealed to IOC president Thomas Bach to overturn it.
The IAAF released a statement after the decision, both celebrating the decision that "cleared a level playing field for athletes" and bemoaning the need to ban athletes at all.
The statement:
The CAS didn't list its reasoning for the decision, but said it would make it available as soon as possible.
