Seven Russian swimmers banned from Rio
MOSCOW — Seven Russian swimmers were barred from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, including three linked to recent allegations of a major doping cover-up by Russian authorities, world swimming’s governing body FINA said Monday.
Reigning world 100-meter breaststroke champion Yulia Efimova is among four Russian swimmers withdrawn by the Russian swimming federation because they previously served doping bans, FINA said. The others are Natalya Lovtsova, Anastasia Krapivina and Mikhail Dovgalyuk.
The International Olympic Committee said Sunday Russian athletes with previous doping bans would be banned from the Rio Games. That followed the International Olympic Committee’s decision not to ban the entire Russian team over allegations of state-sponsored doping.
FINA said three more swimmers were identified by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren when he examined evidence that Russian government officials ordered the cover-up of hundreds of doping tests.
They are 2008 Olympic silver and 2012 bronze medalist Nikita Lobintsev, bronze medalist Vladimir Morozov and world junior record holder Daria Ustinova.
Russia’s top Olympic official, Alexander Zhukov, told Russian agency R-Sport that he now believed a total of 13 Russians would be ineligible due to previous doping bans. They would be withdrawn from the team, he added.
The 13 are likely to include athletes in swimming, cycling, weightlifting, wrestling and rowing.
The IOC’s executive board asked Sunday that individual global sports federations to decide on the entry of Russian athletes, and announced new eligibility criteria.
The rules prohibit Russia from sending to the Rio Games any athletes who previously have served doping bans. Sports federations also can reject Russian entries if they have not undergone enough international drug testing. Results of Russian tests will not be accepted after allegations of routine coverups at Moscow’s anti-doping laboratory.
It remains unclear whether there could be legal challenges to the IOC criteria. A similar IOC measure, known as the Osaka Rule, which would have prohibited any athletes who had received doping bans from competing in the subsequent Olympics, was declared invalid by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Zhukov said the IOC’s latest criteria violated the “principle of equality” because they only applied to Russia, although he previously has ruled out legal action.
But Russian Swimming Federation president Vladimir Salnikov told the state Tass agency that the four swimmers cut from its team “have the chance to appeal to CAS.” Efimova’s agent, Andrei Mitkov, told Russia’s Sportbox website that she intended to file an appeal if she was not allowed to compete.
Russia’s track and field athletes remain barred from the games by the IAAF, a decision upheld last week by CAS and accepted by the IOC.
Now, with the Aug. 5 opening ceremony approaching, it is up to the remaining 27 international sports federations to vet Russian athletes on an individual basis.