Russian long jumper Darya Klishina "will compete at the Rio Olympics after her ban from the Games was struck down by sport's highest court on the eve of her event," according to Jack Stubbs of REUTERS. Russian track and field suffered "a final humiliation in Rio on Saturday" when the IAAF suspended Klishina, the nation's only athlete to have so far survived a blanket doping ban, three days before she was due to compete.
But the Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Monday that "it had upheld Klishina's appeal against the ban." CAS said, "The parties were informed that the application was upheld and that the athlete remained eligible to compete in the Olympic Games in Rio." Klishina "had been given an exemption to compete in Rio as a neutral athlete." New evidence had emerged from a World Anti-Doping Agency investigation "conducted by lawyer Richard McLaren." Striking down the ban, CAS said that Klishina's permanent residence in the U.S. meant she still met the IAAF's competition criteria "despite the additional information provided by Prof. McLaren" (REUTERS, 8/15). The BBC reported qualifying for the long jump "takes place on Tuesday." Klishina wrote on Facebook, "I can thankfully focus my time and attention on competing tomorrow night and enjoying my Olympic experience, which I have dreamed of since I first began long jumping as a young girl." The IAAF said, "We instigated a review process following new evidence presented to us. The outcome we reached to revoke Darya Klishina's exceptional eligibility was not upheld by Cas despite the information received and she is therefore eligible to compete in Rio" (BBC, 8/15).
PARALYMPIC APPEAL: The BBC reported Russia filed its appeal to CAS "against a total ban from the Rio Paralympics." The Int'l Paralympic Committee confirmed last week that "the entire Russian team would be banned." With 267 Russian competitors across 18 sports "set to miss the Games," the appeal hearing is set for Aug. 21, with a decision expected on Aug. 22 (BBC, 8/15).
