Olympic notebook: Last-minute IOC panel will make final call on Russian eligibility

The IOC set up a special three-person panel on Saturday to make a final ruling on which individual Russian athletes are allowed to compete in the Rio Olympics, which start Friday. IOC spokesperson Mark Adams says the panel will decide on the eligibility of Russian athletes who have been put forward by individual sports federations and approved by an independent arbitrator. “This panel will decide whether to accept or reject that final proposal” before the opening ceremonies, he added. Earlier, Russia launched an appeal, through the Court of Arbitration for Sport, of the ban on all eight of its weightlifters for doping. Suspended Russian swimmers Vladimir Morozov and Nikita Lobintsev also submitted appeals of their Rio drug bans.

TAKE A NUMBER: Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren says he is facing “a deluge of requests” to provide information on individual athletes implicated in his report on statesponsored doping in Russia. McLaren, commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, issued a report that accused Russia’s sports ministry of overseeing a doping program that involved Olympic athletes in more than 20 summer and winter sports. The IOC rejected calls to ban Russia’s entire Olympic team. Instead, the IOC asked individual sports federations to determine which athletes can compete. McLaren said in a

statement that “my office has been inundated with requests for information on individual athletes.”

NOT SO SMOOTH SAILING: The main ramp of Marina da Gloria, the sailing venue of the Rio Olympics, partially collapsed Saturday. Organizers said no one was injured in the incident that raises further questions about the quality of construction in the Olympic host city. A spokesperson placed the blame on high tides and a stormy sea. The collapsed structure, which is temporary, is the main access point for boats to reach the water. The construction company responsible was expected to make the repairs within four days. Sailing competitions begin Aug. 8. Training won’t be affected as the boats can use another permanent ramp.

SUBWAY SUCCESS: Officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday for a much-delayed $3-billion Rio subway expansion less than a week before the Olympics begin.