Russia free to send athletes to Rio Olympics in fencing, triathlon and volleyball despite state-sponsored doping
RUSSIA are still set to take over 200 athletes to the Rio 2016 Olympics despite allegations of state-sponsored doping shaming the nation.
The governing for bodies for fencing, triathlon and volleyball have given the super power the green light to send competitors to fight in their disciplines despite the reams of evidence pointing at systematic cheating driven by Vladimir Putin’s people.
Canadian law professor Richard McLaren's explosive report uncovered hundreds of positive drug tests that had been covered up by the Moscow anti-doping laboratory under orders from the Russian ministry of sport.
International Association of Athletics Federation bravely placed a blanket ban on the secretive nation in November with only one of Russia's proposed 68-strong team declared eligible for Rio.
The IAAF said: “The applications by 68 athletes for eligibility to compete in Rio were assessed carefully and on an individual basis by the IAAF doping review board, and only one of them was found to meet the criteria for exceptional eligibility.”
World Rowing took an impressively bold approach on Tuesday, banning 22 of Russia's 28 rowers but gave a more diplomatic explanation, saying they had not been tested enough times outside of Russia, where the anti-doping system has been proven to be corrupt.
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Bosses from boxing, cycling, golf, gymnastics, handball, table tennis, taekwondo, weightlifting and wrestling are still to confirm their eligibility decisions.
But all Russian competitors from equestrian, shooting, judo, tennis and archery have been given permission to compete starting on August 5.
In response to his country’s jettisoning from certain sports, Putin has claimed the medals won will be worth far less than usual with so many Russians missing.
He told he told the Russian Olympic team at the Kremlin in Moscow at their leaving ceremony on Wednesday there was a "deliberate campaign targeting our athletes" and he added:
"The other sportsmen understand that the quality of their medals will be different." And he claimed the investigation into Russian doping was "characterised by so-called double standards and opted for the idea of collective responsibility, which is not compatible with sport, justice in general, or the basic norms of law".
The International Olympic Committee cowardly refused to have the final say on the athletes who would be included or excluded from Brazil, leaving it down to the individual federations.
Germany's Olympic discus champion Robert Harting said he was "ashamed" of his compatriot Thomas Bach, president of the IOC.
The latest ruling from three under-pressure federations means there are 16 Russian fencers due to compete in Brazil and six triathletes.
An International Triathlon Union (ITU) statement said: "None of the six Russian triathletes (three men, three women) that have qualified for 2016 Olympics are included in the McLaren report, nor have any of them served suspensions or bans for failed doping tests.
"Additionally, they have all been tested outside of Russia. Therefore, ITU will recommend to the IOC that these six athletes be permitted to compete in Rio next month."
And there could now be 30 players across the respective squads to play volleyball and beach volleyball.