Russian weightlifting team banned from Rio

Russian Federation is confident that most of its Olympic team will be able to compete in Rio de Janeiro, but its efforts to reinstate banned athletes are a mixed bag. Russia’s Minister of Sport, Vitaly Mutko, said 272 of the originally selected 387 were cleared to compete in the Games themselves (which means 115 were not).

Morozov, a member of the 4x100m freestyle relay team that came third in 2012 in London, was one of seven Russian swimmers banned by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) following the IOC directive.

Richard McLaren, who was commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, issued a report that accused Russia’s sports ministry of overseeing doping among Olympic athletes in more than two dozen summer and winter sports. “The (Russian) decision has been made, there is nothing we can do about it”, Chiller added.

“Furthermore, they request that the IOC validates the entries submitted by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) for them to compete in the Olympic Games in Rio”.

Stepanova’s hopes of running at the Olympics, which start next week, as an independent athlete where dashed when the International Olympic Committee ruled earlier this month that no Russian with a doping background could take part.

All of Russia’s weightlifters were banned from the Rio Olympics on Friday for doping for what the global federation called “extremely shocking” results that brought the sport into ” disrepute”.

The IWF(International Weightlifting Federation) said on Friday that there are several cases of doping by Russian weightlifters have “seriously damaged” the integrity of the sport.

Also Saturday, the IOC board granted full recognition to the International Ski Mountaineering Federation.

Australia’s Olympic delegation head Kitty Chiller has questioned Russia’s determination to eliminate drug cheats after it was announced that the country would host an alternative event for banned track and field athletes in Moscow.

The world’s top four weightlifting nations are Russia, China, North Korea and Kazakhstan.

She failed to qualify for her favorite race, the 200 meters, and will not have a chance to defend her Olympic title at that distance. A top item on the agenda is Wednesday’s vote on a recommendation to add five sports to the program of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics — baseball/softball, surfing, karate, roller skating and sport climbing.

The executive board meeting was pushed back so IOC president Thomas Bach could attend the delayed inauguration of a Rio metro line which will link the Barra Olympic zone to the rest of Rio.