IOC panel to decide on the fate of Russian athletes

The IOC earlier this month set criteria for Russians to be eligible to compete in Rio after revelations of statebacked doping in the country. 

They needed to have been tested for drugs outside Russia and have a spotless doping record with no previous bans in order to be cleared by their respective international federations. All Russian athletes sanctioned for doping in the past have been excluded from the Games. 

The IOC panel consists of Ugur Erdener, the IOC’s medical commission chairman, Claudia Bokel, head of the athletes commission and fellow IOC member Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., vice president of the Modern Pentathlon federation. 

The trio will take the final decision once Court of Arbitration for Sport arbitrators have reviewed the cases individually, IOC spokesman Mark Adams told reporters. 

“There is not a blanket decision. It is about individual athletes,” Adams said.