Putin slams discrimination as banned athletes join Olympics send off

President Vladimir Putin hit out at “discrimination” against Russia’s banned track and field athletes at a Kremlin send-off ceremony yesterday for its depleted Olympic team.

Fencers and triathletes became the latest team of Russians to be cleared to compete in Rio by their sports’ governing bodies before the Moscow ceremony, but the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) rejected a bid by the bulk of the track and field team to be reinstated.

More than 100 from the 387-strong Russian team have been banned so far from going to the Games in Brazil.

“We can’t accept indiscriminate dis- qualification of our athletes with an absolutely clean doping history,” Putin said. “We cannot and will not accept what in fact is pure discrimination.”

He said the banned athletes were victims of a campaign to present Russian sports in a bad light. Two-time Olympic pole-vaulting champion Yelena Isinbayeva, the most highprofile of the 67 track and field athletes banned, stood beside him as he spoke.

Fighting back tears, Isinbayeva told the Rio-bound athletes: “Show them what you’re able to do — for yourself and for us too.”

As the athletes walked across Red Square to meet Putin, some posed for selfies with Vitaly Mutko, whose sports ministry was accused by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) of orchestrating the doping cover-up. The Sports Minister has been blocked by the International Olympic Committee from attending the Games next month but he remains in Putin’s Government.

The IAAF is the only sport to impose a near-blanket ban on Russians, deeming only one — long jumper Darya Klishina — eligible for Rio.

“The situation went beyond the legal field as well as common sense,” Putin said. “It’s a well-planned campaign which targeted our athletes, which included double-standards and the con- cept of collective punishment which has nothing to do with justice or even basic legal norms.

“Not only have our athletes who never faced any specific accusations been hurt — this is a blow to the entire global sports and the Olympic Games. Clearly, the absence of Russian athletes who were leaders in some of the sports will affect the competition.”

But there was positive news from Putin’s ally, Alisher Usmanov, the Russian billionaire who is president of the International Fencing Federation.

The FIE said it would let the 16 Russian fencers who have qualified for Rio compete and it approved four reserves. It said it had re-examined 197 tests taken from Russian fencers in 35 nations over the past two years which all came back negative.

It did not respond to questions about whether WADA investigator Richard McLaren’s evidence was considered before deciding to allow Russian fencers to compete in Rio.

McLaren reported last week that four positive doping tests in Russian fencing and four in triathlon had disappeared in recent years.

Russian entries to the Olympics must still be examined and upheld by an expert from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.