International Olympic Committee sets up 3-person panel to rule on Russian entries
Source: ESPN/AP
A three-person International Olympic Committee panel will make a final ruling on which individual Russian athletes are allowed to compete in the Rio de Janeiro Games.
The IOC's ruling executive board, which met Saturday for the final time before Friday's opening of the games, said the panel will decide on the entry of Russian athletes whose names have been forwarded to compete by their international sports federations and approved by an independent arbitrator.
"This panel will decide whether to accept or reject that final proposal," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. "We want to make it absolutely clear that we are the ones making the final call."
The move comes amid a doping scandal that has led to the exclusion of more than 100 Russian athletes connected to state-sponsored cheating. More than 250 Russian athletes have been cleared to compete by the federations.
Read more: http://www.espn.co.uk/olympics/story/_/id/17181201/ioc-sets-3-person-panel-rule-russian-entries
They couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery. Five days before the start, and they change their mind about who gets the final say?
uawchild
(2,208 posts)They got caught red-handed doing STATE SPONSORED DOPING, good grief.
Ban the entire Russian team for the 2016 AND the 2020 Olympics. Let them take the eight years to get clean AND PROVE IT before the 2024 games.
Igel
(35,337 posts)Those banned stay banned, those cleared might yet be banned. Perhaps they suspect undue influence on some organizations or a reluctance for some organizations to deal strictly.
Sucky organization, to be sure.
IthinkThereforeIAM
(3,076 posts)... in Rio and Brazil along with the doping Russians, I have no plans to even watch this Olympics. It has become charade. As a former cross country runner in high school (participated in 3 state meets, we won the first year), I can only shake my head at all the work the athletes put in, then to be forced to participate in this charade.