Russia’s "attempt to overturn a ban on its track and field team competing at the Rio Olympics due to state-organised doping has been rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport," according to Martyn Ziegler of the LONDON TIMES. The decision opens the way for the Int'l Olympic Committee to "consider imposing a ban on the entire Russian Olympic team when its executive board meets on Sunday." The ban on the track and field athletes had been imposed by the IAAF, and IAAF President Sebastian Coe said that "the judgement by CAS against a combined appeal from the Russian Olympic Committee and 67 athletes helped create a level playing field for sport." Coe said, "While we are thankful that our rules and our power to uphold our rules and the anti-doping code have been supported, this is not a day for triumphant statements. I didn't come into this sport to stop athletes from competing." CAS said that its panel unanimously “confirmed the validity” of the IAAF’s decision to ban Russia from Rio and other int'l competitions. The IOC has said that the CAS ruling "will help shape its decision whether to ban Russia entirely from Rio over an investigation which accused Russia of rampant state-backed doping at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and other major events" (LONDON TIMES, 7/21). In London, Ben Bloom reported the consequences "could prove far wider reaching than just the world of athletics, with the decision piling even greater pressure" on the IOC to impose a blanket ban on every Russian sport. The IOC has already confirmed it is "exploring legal options" over whether to kick Russia out of the Rio Games and "it had been eagerly awaiting the CAS decision to see if any ban would be legally sound." The organization is "now due to hold a teleconference on Sunday, with a decision on whether to ban Russia entirely due early next week" -- less than two weeks before the start of the Olympics (TELEGRAPH, 7/21).
FIRST IN SPORTING HISTORY: Also in London, McClean & Seddon reported Russia became "the first country in sporting history to have athletes banned from an Olympics after failing to prove its doping regime could ensure athletes were clean from performance-enhancing drugs." The Lausanne-based court "did not provide reasons for its decision, but said full grounds for the ruling would be released as soon as possible." Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia "regretted the court's decision." He said, "The subject of collective responsibility can hardly be acceptable for us. We’re talking about athletes who were preparing for the Olympics and have nothing to do with doping, nothing to do with any accusations and suspicions. Anti-doping agencies have regularly collected their doping tests." Russia Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko "was suspended over the scandal," and blamed the decision on the IAAF. He said, "The international federation is totally corrupted -- it all started from them. The people who were named in the first independent commission report are still working" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 7/21).
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| CAS Secretary General Matthieu Reeb addresses the media after ruling. |
'CRIME AGAINST SPORT': REUTERS' Depetris & Stubbs reported the decision is "drawing swift angry condemnation from Moscow." Double Olympic champion pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva called the decision "the funeral of athletics." Isinbayeva wrote on Instagram, "Now let all these foreign pseudo-clean sportspeople sigh with relief and win their pseudo-gold medals in our absence. They have always feared (our) strength." Russian officials, and many ordinary people in the country, have "interpreted the doping allegations as part of a conspiracy inspired by Western governments who fear Moscow's growing influence." A spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry called the court decision "a crime against sport" (REUTERS, 7/21). In a separate piece, Stubbs reported ROC honorary President Leonid Tyagachev said that Mutko and ROC President Alexander Zhukov are "responsible for the exclusion of Russian athletes from the Rio Olympics." Tyagachev: "Vitaly Mutko and Alexander Zhukov ... bear responsibility for all these cases linked to us. Mutko needs to have a hard think, it is impossible to continue to develop sport in this way" (REUTERS, 7/21).
'CLEAR CUT' BAN: The AP reported former WADA President John Fahey said that it should be a "clear cut" decision: Russia "should not be allowed to compete at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro." Fahey said that Russia should "definitely not be going" to Rio and said that the integrity of the 2016 Olympics and future Games "was in jeopardy." He said, "This is widespread corruption, not individual, not a group, not one sport. It’s a conspiracy of the state through the ministry of sport, the anti-doping organization and their security service and the previously accredited Moscow lab. They have all conspired to bring this about" (AP, 7/22). FOX SPORTS' Melanie Dinjaski reported former champion pole vaulter and Olympic Silver Medalist Tatiana Grigorieva "believes the only way to clean up Russia's 'rotten' system is to ban the entire team from competing at the Rio Games." Grigorieva, a Russian-born Australian that led a successful 10-year career in pole vaulting representing Australia, said that the IOC has "no option but to rule Russia out of the Rio Olympics in the wake of recent developments." She said, "It's obvious by now that the system is rotten. The fact that the new findings are saying that [Russia’s] secret service are involved in this, it scares me. It goes a lot deeper than just sport or the Olympic Committee" (FOX SPORTS, 7/21). In London, Lowe & Gheerbrant reported rowing's world governing body has asked the IOC "whether it would be able to replace Russia crews if the country is banned from the Games, as it braces itself for a logistical headache." Russia qualified six Olympic and two Paralympic boats for Rio, although one, the men's quadruple sculls, "has been disqualified because of a doping violation." If the remaining five Russia crews "were removed from the Olympic regatta, with no time to replace them, it could have a significant impact on the schedule" (LONDON TIMES, 7/22).
