The Court of Arbitration for Sport did not allow Russian athletes to participate in the Olympics

by time news

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) lost a case in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne regarding the admission of Russian athletes to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. This was reported on the official website of the CAS. But the final decision whether Russian athletes will participate in the Rio Olympics will be made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the coming days.

“CAS did not satisfy the claim of the Russian Olympic Committee and 68 Russian athletes,” the court said in a statement.

A hearing in the ARAF case took place on July 19 in Geneva, and the decision was announced on Thursday, 48 hours after the hearing. The court’s decision was reportedly unanimous.

“Russia has no right to appoint athletes to the Games, unless they meet certain specific requirements,” said CAS Secretary General Mathieu Ribe on the air of the Russia 24 TV channel. Only long jumper Daria Klishina, who became the only Russian athlete allowed to participate in the Games-2016, was eligible for compliance with “certain specific requirements” of Russian track and field athletes. However, the Russian long jumper will only be able to perform under a neutral flag. The remaining 67 athletes, including such stars as Elena Isinbaeva, Sergey Shubenkov, Maria Kuchina, can skip the Games.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) supports the CAS decision not to admit Russian athletes to the 2016 Olympic Games, according to the IAAF’s official website.

Thus, after the decision of the court in Lausanne, Russian athletes practically lost all chances of performing at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. This was announced to TASS by the President of the All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) Dmitry Shlyakhtin.

However, the CAS decision is not mandatory for the IOC, which can allow Russian athletes to participate in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, since it is the organizer of the event. “This is not a legal issue, but it is possible, since in accordance with the Charter of the Olympic Games, the IOC is the main organizer of the Games. Since the IOC is not a party to this arbitration [иска российских спортсменов]”CAS has no jurisdiction to determine whether the IOC can accept or refuse nominations from the Russian Olympic Committee of Athletes to participate in the Rio Olympics,” said Mathieu Ribe.

The next meeting of the IOC Executive Board will take place on 24 July. It will discuss the participation of Russian athletes in the 2016 Olympics, TASS reports.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin intends to analyze the CAS decision. This was stated by the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov. “Of course, I can unequivocally express regret in connection with such a decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which concerns absolutely all our athletes, our athletes, because the topic of collective responsibility, from our point of view, can hardly be acceptable,” said Peskov (quote according to “Interfax”).

Peskov explained that we are talking about athletes who have nothing to do with doping and any accusations and suspicions. According to a Kremlin spokesman, doping samples of these athletes were regularly collected by foreign anti-doping agencies.

He also added that the possibility of a meeting between Vladimir Putin and the athletes of the Russian Olympic team is being investigated. “While the fact is that athletes have a very busy schedule, many train, they naturally continue, in spite of everything, training, many on the road, and so on and so forth. Therefore, at the moment, the possibility of gathering some significant part of the team is simply being investigated, so I cannot say anything more concrete yet, ”the press secretary explained (quoted by Interfax).

The CAS decision on the suit of the Russian Olympic Committee is comparable to the funeral of athletics, two-time Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva, who will also not be able to take part in the Rio Olympics, told TASS. “All an athlete had to do was jump the standard, pass the test and perform. Thank you all for the athletics funeral. This is a purely political order. All the arguments are directed against the ARAF – and nothing concrete against the athletes, ”said Isinbayeva, quoted by TASS.

Meanwhile, in connection with the decision of the CAS, the ROC postponed the ceremonial departure of the Russian national team to the Olympics from July 22 to another day. TASS was informed about this by the head of the Russian delegation at the Games in Brazil Igor Kazikov. “We will announce the date later,” Kazikov said.

The Olympics will be held in Rio de Janeiro from 5 to 21 August. This will be the first Olympic Games to be hosted in South America.

.

You may also like

Leave a Comment