Russian athletes lose appeal of doping ban for Rio Olympics

On Thursday, the Court for the Arbitration of Sport rejected the appeal made by the Russian Olympic Committee and 67 athletes, sparking anger from Russia and a call to disband the International Association of Athletes Federations, the world’s athletic governing body. Russia was suspended from track and field events in November 2015. The suspension from IAAF came after an independent World AntiDoping Agency report uncovered a culture of state-sponsored doping. The International Olympic Committee executive board met Sunday to discuss the ruling and decide what sanctions to impose on the Russian Olympic association and the country’s athletes.

Alexander Zemlianichenko / Associated Press Russia’s Maria Kuchina, left, and Natalya Aksyonova at the Russian Athletics Cup. Losing the appeal could add pressure to the Olympic Committee to exclude Russia from the Rio Games.