IOC members support not banning Russia
RIO DE JANEIRO — Gathering in advance of the 2016 Games, members of the International Olympic Committee confirmed their support Tuesday for the decision not to bar Russia from participating in Rio de Janeiro.
When the IOC declined to issue a blanket ban last month, it was acting under a time crunch and only the small but influential executive board had a chance to vote.
With organization starting a three-day meeting in Rio de Janeiro, IOC President Thomas Bach asked for a show of support from the entire membership.
All but Adam Pengilly of Britain voted their approval.
The IOC has drawn criticism from anti-doping authorities, athletes and the media for its handling of Russia, which has been hit with repeated allegations of widespread, systemic doping.
Olympic leaders have allowed the international federations that govern each sport rule on the matter case by case. So far, more than 100 Russians have been banned and more than 250 cleared.
The IOC has also established a three-person panel to make the final call on athletes who have been deemed eligible to compete in Rio.
Bach said Tuesday it would have been a “nuclear option” to bar the entire Russian team and potentially exclude some athletes who had not cheated.
“The result is death and devastation,” he said at the morning session. “This is not what the Olympic movement stands for.”
During a two-hour debate, numerous members, including Larry Probst and Angela Ruggiero of the United States, agreed.
“I completely understand that it was a complicated and difficult decision without a perfect solution,” Probst said.
Dick Pound, an IOC member from Canada and former leader of the World Anti-Doping Agency, complained that the full membership was “not asked for our opinion.”
“The decisions have been very unpopular in a number of countries and it’s difficult for IOC members to explain why this particular option was taken,” he said. Russian swimmers still in limbo
Russian swimmers Vladimir Morozov and Nikita Lobintsev still aren’t cleared to compete in Rio de Janeiro despite a report to the contrary, the International Swimming Federation said.
The federation banned Morozov and Lobintsev from the Games last week after they were mentioned in the WADA report by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren that alleged Russia engaged in widespread state-sponsored doping.
Morozov and Lobintsev, both Olympic medalists, swim for the USC-based Trojan Swim Club.
The Russian news agency Tass reported that the federation reversed course and cleared Morozov and Lobintsev to participate in the Games.
The report cited Artem Patsev, an attorney representing the swimmers.
The federation, however, denied any such decision in a five-paragraph statement.
The swimmers appealed the ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport last week.
The federation said that CAS forwarded the case to a three-person IOC commission to make a final determination.