Russia's track and field team banned from Summer Olympics
Russia’s track and field team has been banned from competing in the Rio Summer Olympics in the wake of a state-sponsored doping scandal.
Track and field’s global governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations, met Friday and voted unanimously to maintain the ban on Russia in international competition that it initially set in motion last November. The IAAF said that Russia did not meet the criteria for readmission that were established at the time of the ban.
The International Olympic Committee will decide Tuesday whether any individual athletes who don’t have a history of drug violations will be excluded from the ban.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday while speaking to the IAAF that clean athletes should not be punished because others have been caught doping.
"There cannot be collective responsibility for all athletes or athletes of one federation if someone has been caught doping,” he said.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
