Russia and the IOC: The key facts

Olympic leaders stopped short Sunday of imposing a complete ban on Russia from the Rio de Janeiro Games, leaving individual global sports federations to decide which athletes should be cleared to compete. The decision, announced after a three-hour meeting

Q What decision did the IOC make?

A The IOC decided not to implement a blanket ban on Russia at the Rio Olympics. Instead, it will be up to individual federations to decide on a sport-by-sport basis. The IOC says it has set out “very strict criteria” for every Russian if they are to qualify. They include never having been sanctioned for a doping violation, previously submitting to “reliable adequate international tests” and subjecting themselves to a “rigorous additional out-of-competition testing programme.”

Q How many Russians will be allowed to compete?

A This is the big unknown. While 117 Russian weightlifters provided positive drugs tests between 2012 and 2015, there is no evidence of a single Russian gymnast doing likewise. So we could see one sport with a full team of Russians and another with none at all.

Q When will we know how big the Russian team will be?

A Again, no one really knows. Every federation will meet in the next few days and make as quick a decision as possible. The IOC requires them to carry out an “individual analysis” of every Russian athlete’s anti-doping record — but the time frame available puts such lengthy analysis in serious doubt. Once a decision has been made, it will then be put to an expert from the Court of Arbitration for Sport for verification.

Q Does the IOC decision apply to athletics?

A In short: no. The entire Russian athletics team was banned by International Association of Athletics Federations last November. The two exemptions were Floridabased long jumper Darya Klishina and doper-turned-whistleblower 800-metre runner Yuliya Stepanova, who the IAAF recommended to compete as “neutral athletes.” The IOC has ruled that Stepanova cannot compete because of her previous doping ban, while it has also ruled out the presence of any “neutral athletes” in Rio. What that means for Klishina is unknown.

Q What problems could the IOC encounter?

A Aside from the almost unmanageable time frame, the IOC could also see some of its judgment challenged on legal grounds. There are also serious concerns over how rigorous international federations will be in their analysis of every Russian athlete competing at the games.