IOC: Russian athletes will have go through a three step procedure to participate in Olympics
Russian athletes will have to go through three filters in order to secure their participation in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach said on July 31st, as reported by R-sport agency.
“During the telephone conference, the IOC Executive Board established a three-step procedure for Russian athletes in the Games in Rio. First, there is the filter of the international federations, who consider their tests and make individual analyses,” he said. “The second filter is that the Russian Olympic Committee is not allowed to enter any athlete that has been sanctioned for doping. Then the third filter, the final decision, is based on the advice of an independent expert panel appointed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.” Bach further specified that they were “now at the third stage, where the Executive board yesterday decided to delegate its power to a panel of three members, members of EB led by the head of the IOC medical commission.”
According to the IOC President, the Committee has done everything possible to avoid sanctioning truly clean athletes, which is why the IOC’s decision will be not harmful to the Olympic Games’ image. “I don't think that this will be damaging in the end because people will realize that we have to make this decision now,” Bach noted. “Imagine the situation if we hadn’t made any decision. What limbo that would be. And imagine the situation if we would gone another way later. What ridicule and legal limbo this would result in.”
“Everyone would realize that it was not an easy decision to make and they would also realize that we did our best to address this situation in a way that allows us to protect all clean athletes worldwide,” Bach stressed.