Olympic and anti-doping leaders clash over Russian scandal

There should be a bigger crowd when hosts Brazil, led by Marta, make their bow against China at the same venue later in the day.

The first matches of the men’s tournament will take place on Thursday, with Brazilian superstar Neymar spearheading the host nation’s quest for a first ever Olympic gold medal – the only global title every to elude the five-time World Cup winners.

With the formal opening ceremony of the sporting spectacular just two days away, the women’s football tournament started with Sweden defeating South Africa 1-0.

A whistle-blower had approached WADA in early 2010 about Russia’s doping program, and the agency did nothing.

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach has denied letting down clean athletes over his failure to treat Russian Federation more severely, saying he could “look them in the eye” with a clean conscience. AIBA said in a statement. “We should start trying to identify those parts that need attention”.

Speaking Tuesday, Bach called for a complete overhaul of the anti-doping system.

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.

Those critics have questioned Bach’s willingness to upset a country that wields so much political power in Olympic sport, largely because it is willing to host so many events.

“We ve had this problem for how many Olympics now – it seems nearly every time there s something that comes up”.

Reedie said he was “personally offended” by Werthein’s comments, revealing that he confronted the Argentine during a break in the meeting.

“I heard a view this morning that the system is broken”, Reedie told the International Olympic Committee delegates.

The tribunal has been holding special hearings in Rio to clear the appeals before the Olympics begin.

There is still no official confirmation that the Russian Rowing Federation has lost its appeal against the World Rowing Federation for barring 17 of their rowers, and the agent of Russia’s world swimming champion Yulia Efimova has told Press Association Sport that she does not have a time scheduled for her hearing. A number of worldwide federations announced separately Thursday that they had received the final approval for Russian entries in their events, including boxing, judo, equestrian, volleyball and golf.

But the International Olympic Committee has come under fire for not imposing a blanket ban on Russian athletes, despite the report revealing systematic state-backed doping in the country.

In a statement, World Sailing said that it reconsidered the case of Sozykin after receiving additional guidance from the International Olympic Committee regarding the eligibility of athletes from Russian Federation to compete in the Rio.

According to SBNation, Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the ban from the 2016 Rio Olympics as a “deliberate campaign targeting our athletes”.

Several IOC members also criticised WADA during Tuesday’s talks, before the body voted 84-1 to implement last month’s executive board decision not to exclude Russian Federation.

But the overwhelming impression gained from listening to the IOC members who spoke during the debate on the Russian doping crisis was that the Olympic movement places the blame for what has happened squarely at WADA’s door. It has now registered 18 procedures since its opening on July 26, setting a new record of cases for one Olympic Games.