No blanket ban on Russians in Rio — IOC

The International Olympic Committee announced Sunday it has decided against a complete ban of Russian athletes from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Zhukov said he didn’t agree with the latest International Olympic Committee ruling but that Russian Federation would not appeal it.

“We have set the bar to the limit”, Bach told reporters after the International Olympic Committee decided against a blanket ban on the entire Russian team over state-run doping.

Russian Federation is likely to be without some of its top athletes at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro thanks to an International Olympic Committee rule prohibiting former dopers from competing.

That means that while convicted cheats such as American sprinter Justin Gatlin will be present, there will be no place for two-time Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbaeva, who has never been charged with doping, or whistleblower Yulia Stepanova, who had been cleared to compete as a neutral athlete.

All three have previously served a doping ban.

The leader of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency says the International Olympic Committee refused to take decisive leadership by stopping short of a complete Russian ban at the Olympics.

The IOC ethics commission said: “It is true that Mrs Stepanova’s testimony and public statements have made a contribution to the protection and promotion of clean athletes, fair play and the integrity and authenticity of sport”.

The IOC also reiterated its “serious concerns” about the weaknesses in the fight against doping, and called on WADA to “fully review their antidoping systems”.

This decision is a controversial one after part of the Olympic Charter blocking sanctioned athletes from future Games, known as the “Osaka rule”, was struck down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in 2011.

Federations “should carry out an individual analysis of each athlete’s anti-doping record, taking into account only reliable adequate global tests, and the specificities of the athlete’s sport and its rules, in order to ensure a level playing field”, the IOC said in a statement.

Back acknowledged the decision “might not please everybody”.

But speaking on a media call, Bach added that “this is not about expectations – this is about doing justice to clean athletes all over the world”.

The IOC said Stepanova, now living in the United States, did not meet the criteria for running under the IOC flag and, because she had committed doping violations, did not satisfy the “ethical requirements” to compete in the Games. Those who have previously served doping bans will not be eligible while the federations will analyze an athlete’s testing history. “I’m sure the majority of our team will comply”.

But the Olympic leaders said “each affected athlete must be given the opportunity to rebut the applicability of collective responsibility in his or her individual case”.

The IOC says the federations have the authority, under their own rules, to exclude Russian teams as a whole from their sports.

Most are focused on finding shade from the 25-degree (77 Fahrenheit) sunshine as the IOC’s president, Thomas Bach, leads a conference call of his executive board.

The Games begin on August 5.

Reporters from Brazilian, Chinese and Japanese broadcasters are among the group. No less than Russian President Vladimir Putin was making references to the potential fracturing of the Olympic movement if his country was kicked out completely.

It’s a result that falls short of the “toughest sanctions available”, which is what Bach promised when the latest report on Russia’s doping scandal came out last Monday.

Russian Federation finished atop the medal standings at the Sochi Winter Games in 2014, securing 33 medals, including 13 gold.

A damning World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) report released earlier this week alleged a complex system of subterfuge that involved Russia’s security services tampering with and altering sealed urine samples. State media has painted the issue as a USA -led political vendetta.

Olympic leaders are meeting to consider whether to impose a total ban on Russian athletes from the Rio de Janeiro Games because of state-sponsored doping. About 20 different summer Olympic sports were accused in the McLaren report.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) this week rejected an appeal by 67 Russian athletes against the IAAF ban.

The one they did make keeps Russian Federation engaged in the Olympics – not an altogether surprising result, considering the country recently spent $51 billion on the Sochi Games, which have now been proven to be as drug-tainted and corrupt as any in history.

Short of a complete ban, the International Olympic Committee could let individual sports federations decide whether to allow Russian athletes in their events.

The IOC has said it would seek a balance between “collective punishment” and “individual justice”.