Quotebox: Reaction to Olympic Ruling Not to Ban Russia

Efimova is barred after the International Olympic Committee said Russian athletes with previous doping bans could not compete.

Reactions to the decision have been polarizing. The twist is she is invited to be a special guest of the International Olympic Committee at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

The impact of the Russian state-sanctioned doping programme has been widespread and shocking and the International Olympic Committee has taken the strongest possible measures.

Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said that the IOC has made a “considered” decision “in the interests of global sport”. “I would say that the latter is a much greater threat to sport”.

But some of those federations and other sports leaders were pleased with the decision.

Why have Russia’s athletics team been banned from the Olympics?

After a three-hour teleconference in Lausanne, the executive board passed the baton to individual sports’ governing bodies to decide if Russian competitors are clean and should be allowed to take part in next month’s Games.

The IOC decision was sharply criticized by anti-doping bodies as a sellout that undermines clean athletes and destroys the idea of a level playing field.

“Now it goes on and on and it is extended to other sports with Sochi”.

“Unless they have a track record of clean, worldwide testing outside of Russian Federation then they’re out”.

Head of the Russia’s Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, Irina Viner-Usmanova, called the ruling “wise”, and thanked IOC, Thomas Bach, for being “a true athlete, Olympian and champion. What they’ve said is actually, we kind of tolerate it now”. “This is about doing justice to clean athletes all over the world”.

Joseph de Pencier, chief executive of the 59-member Institute of National Anti-Doping Organizations, also rebuked the International Olympic Committee for not finding a way to allow Stepanova, who has been “treated disgracefully” by Russian Federation, to compete in Rio.

“Many worldwide federations will have neither the time nor capacity to make the quick and clear decisions necessary let alone do it in a consistent way”, added Steel. CAS dismissed the appeal by the Russian Olympic Committee against the IAAF Thursday.

Additionally, any athlete who has previously tested positive for doping is ineligible, even if they have already served their suspension.

The IOC ruled on Sunday not to ban the entire Russian Olympic team from the participation in the August 5-21 games in Brazil, helping Russian athletes escape a blanket ban.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that the affair could split the Olympic movement, bringing echoes of the 1980s when the US-led a political boycott of the Moscow Games of 1980, and the Soviet Union led an eastern bloc boycott of the Los Angeles Games four years later.

The IOC set out a series of requirements Russians must meet to gain accreditation.