IOC: Seven swimmers among Russians banned from Rio for old doping violations
MOSCOW— Seven Russian swimmers have been barred from the Rio Olympics, including three linked to recent allegations of a major doping coverup by Russian authorities, swimming’s governing body said Monday.
Reigning world 100-metre breaststroke champion Yulia Efimova is among four Russian swimmers withdrawn by the Russian swimming federation because they previously served doping bans, FINA announced. The others are Natalya Lovtsova, Anastasia Krapivina and Mikhail Dovgalyuk.
On Sunday, the IOC decided Russian athletes with previous doping bans would be barred from the Rio Games. That followed the IOC’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 coverup of hundreds of doping tests: 2008 Olympic silver and 2012 bronze medallist Nikita Lobintsev, bronze medallist Vladimir Morozov and world junior record holder Daria Ustinova.
Russia’s top Olympic official, Alexander Zhukov, told Russian agency R-Sport a total of 13 Russians would be ineligible due to previous bans. They would be withdrawn from the team, he added.
The 13 are likely to include athletes in swimming, cycling, weightlifting, wrestling and rowing.
On Sunday, the IOC’s executive board asked individual global sports federations to decide on the entry of Russian athletes, and announced new eligibility criteria.
It remains unclear whether there will be legal challenges. 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 has previously ruled out legal action.
However, Russian Swimming Federation president Vladimir Salnikov told the state Tass agency that the four swimmers cut from its team “have the chance to appeal.”