Rio Games not clean: Russian doping whistleblower Vitaly Stepanov

Mutko on August 1 will present to Unesco a report on doping, where he will comment on the work of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Saudi Arabia will send four female athletes to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, doubling its female participation after two women took part in the 2012 London Games for the first time.

The IOC has said that any Russian athlete with a prior sanction for doping would not be allowed into the games. The panel will look into the case of each athlete already cleared to compete.

However, three table-tennis players from the country, Polina Mikhailova, Maria Dolgikh and Alexander Shibaev, have now been told they can participate by the The International Table Tennis Federation.

Juan Antonio Samaranch, son of the seventh president of the IOC, and IOC Athletes’ Commission Chair Claudia Bokel were also included in the commission.

There was good news for Russia on Friday when the Russian Taekwondo Union said it had received notification from the World Taekwondo Federation that all three of its entries could compete in Rio.

“Now is the time to resolve this situation”.

The IOC executive is to meet Saturday and Sunday to discuss the crisis. “We shall attempt protecting our athletes”.

USA anti-doping boss Travis Tygart accused the International Olympic Committee of deterring future whistleblowers and of refusing to take decisive leadership and blasted their non-decision a “a significant blow to the rights of clean athletes”.

“They’re now in Portugal”, But said. And Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes lashed out Friday at the Olympics organizing committee, accusing it of “serious problems” in managing the village.

When asked today why Bach had felt the need to respond to these comments, but not the frequent dismissals of the McLaren Report by Russian officials, Adams suggested this was because he “had not been asked”.

More measures will follow after the Olympics, once the report, commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, is completed by law professor Richard McLaren.

The news will create unease for any athletes – including cyclists – who may have utilised gene doping. Not that I wouldn’t join the chorus because, quite frankly, this is the organization that showed itself to be utterly incompetent. Apart from that, the International Olympic Committee ruled than no Russian athlete who has ever been sanctioned for doping will be allowed to take part in the Rio Olympics, even if they have served the sanction.

Russian Federation nominated eight weightlifters to compete in Rio but Tatiana Kashirina, who won a silver medal at the London Olympics in the women’s +75kg category, and Anastasiia Romanova were withdrawn due to previous anti-doping rule violations.