Russia’s games

Russia’s banned track and field team are to compete in their own event in the wake of their Rio Olympics ban. Russian authorities wanted to give the athletes some form of competition and scheduled a "Stars 2016" event. Around 135 athletes will compete at Moscow’s Znamensky Brothers Stadium on Thursday, under the guidance of national coach Yuriy Borzakovskiy. To increase competition, the tournament will also include athletes not originally selected in Russia’s 68-strong squad. The event features men’s hurdling world champion Sergey Shubenkov and world champion high jumper Maria Kuchina.