Kenyan and Russian athletes eyeing Rio Olympics to undergo extra independent tests
Athletes from Kenya and Russia will have to go through extra independent tests before they can be allowed to take part in the Rio 2016 Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said.
This unprecedented step was unanimously agreed at an emergency summit convened by the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne.
The IOC said a lack of trusted doping control meant it wanted each sports governing body to vet their athletes and “take into account other reliable adequate testing systems in addition to national anti-doping testing”.
IOC president Thomas Bach said athletes from Kenya and Russia could no longer be “presumed innocent” following the World Anti-Doping Agency declaring both Kenya and Russia “non-compliant” with its rules.
“The conclusion of the summit was that this non-compliance declaration, and the substantial allegations related to it, put very serious doubts on the presumption of innocence for athletes coming from these two countries,” said Bach.
“Therefore, each athlete coming from these two countries will have to be declared eligible by their respective international federation following an individual procedure and evaluation of the situation,” he added.
Russian track and field athletes have been banned from competing at Rio because of accusations of state-sponsored doping in the country. That ban was upheld by athletics’ governing body, the IAAF, on Friday.
The IOC resolutions however clear the way for Russian athletes deemed clean by the IAAF to compete in Rio.
