There are only a few hours left before the start of the 2016 Olympics, and the composition of the Russian team at the Games in Rio de Janeiro may still undergo changes. August 4 Sports arbitration court in Lausanne (CAS) recognized as “unenforceable” the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) not to allow Russian athletes who were previously convicted of doping to participate in the Olympic Games in Rio, even if their punishment had expired.
The decision to abolish double punishment was made by the arbitration court during the consideration of the cases of Russian rowers Ivan Podshivalov and Anastasia Karabelshchikova. CAS partially upheld the athletes' appeal and thus granted the International Rowing Federation the right to make a decision on the admission of Russian athletes. A similar decision was made regarding Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova. Now decisions on the exclusion of individual athletes from the Olympics, previously made by relevant international federations, can be revised.
Today, according to the IOC, 271 athletes from Russia have the right to compete in Rio - compared to the originally announced 387. Russia's final bid for the Games will have to be approved by a three-member International Olympic Committee (IOC) commission, which will, among other things, re-examine the cases of athletes eligible to participate in the Games in accordance with the latest CAS decision.
Everything is hard in athletics, but not easier in weightlifting.
In total, sets of medals will be played out in 33 sports in Brazil. The Russians did not qualify for the Olympics in rugby, field hockey, football and basketball. After the doping scandal with track and field athletes, Russia will be represented in the “queen of sports” by only one athlete - long jumper Daria Klishina. Until the last moment, uncertainty remained regarding the only Russian participant in the golf tournament, Maria Verchenova, but in response to a request from DW, Verchenova's official representative said that she would take the starting line in Brazil.
The situation in weightlifting is completely sad - the entire Russian team has been suspended, without exception. Of course, Daria Klishina alone will not affect the medal balance much, but the Russian team still has one chance at the track and field podium. But the weightlifters didn’t have a single chance.
“The Russians have repeatedly caused serious damage to the reputation of weightlifting. Therefore, in order to preserve the status of the sport, the appropriate sanction was applied,” the International Weightlifting Federation explains its decision. You can’t argue with this - too many Russians from this sport have been caught doping in recent years. The head of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), Alexander Zhukov, in an interview with rsport.ru, expressed the hope that in Rio Russia would be able to field a “small team” in weightlifting, but these dreams also went up in smoke.
Some go to in full force
With other disciplines the situation is clearer. Apparently, the Games will take part Russian teams in volleyball - men's and women's (both are traditionally among the favorites, especially the men, champions of London 2012), handball players, boxers, synchronized swimmers, as well as a table tennis team. All these athletes - about 70 of them - on Thursday, July 28, flew from Moscow to Brazil on a regular flight in an organized manner.
Representatives of a number of other sports have no problems either. According to sport-express.ru, in full force, in accordance with the number of licenses won, Olympians from Russia will perform in the following disciplines: sports and rhythmic gymnastics, trampolining, fencing, shooting, triathlon, beach volleyball, judo, equestrianism, tennis and taekwondo.
Archers and badminton players do not expect any difficulties. Representatives of these sports will either fly to Rio de Janeiro later or are already in South America. In total, all these sports provide at least 153 participants.
Minimal losses
The squad of Russian wrestlers lost one athlete - two-time champion World freestyle wrestling champion Viktor Lebedev will miss the Olympics due to disqualification from 2006. However, 16 other wrestlers are scheduled to take to the mat in Rio. One Russian participant will be missing in modern pentathlon and sailing. The pentathletes have suspended Maxim Kustov, and three of his teammates are flying to Brazil.
The situation is similar for yachtsmen. As the press service of the All-Russian Sailing Federation stated, Pavel Sozykin was not allowed to compete, so at least six Russian yachtsmen will compete for medals at the Olympics. It is possible that Sozykin will be replaced, since he is part of a two-man crew.
In aquatic sports, the only losses were among swimmers - seven people were disqualified, thirty will start. Synchronized swimmers, water polo players (the men's team did not qualify for the Olympics) and divers have no problems with admission - a total of 60 representatives will go to Rio aquatic species sports from Russia.
Units will notice the loss of fighters
Among the rowers, the losses are more than impressive. Of the 28 Russians who qualified for the Games in rowing, the International Rowing Federation allowed only one crew to compete - a four without a coxswain. For kayakers and canoeists, the number of Olympic licenses won was initially smaller - 14. Five kayakers and canoeists were suspended from competing at the Olympics by decision of the International Canoe Federation, while the number of participants will be reduced not by 5, but by 4 athletes (one was replaced).
Context
A considerable part of the team will also be missing cyclists. It was assumed that 17 athletes would defend the honor of Russia in Rio. Olga Zabelinskaya, Ilnur Zakarin and Sergei Shilov, who previously served disqualifications for doping, will definitely not go to the Olympics. Two more athletes - Kirill Sveshnikov and Dmitry Sokolov - were suspended because of their mention in the report of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
There is another name in this document, but it has not yet been announced. Russian cyclist coach Alexander Kuznetsov, in a letter to IOC head Thomas Bach, called for the decision on Sveshnikov and Sokolov to be reversed, but for now we should expect 11 Russian cyclists to take to the track and road in Brazil.
If all the above figures change (some Russian athletes appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS), then most likely it will be insignificant. Over 260 Russian participants at the Rio Olympics is a very good result, considering that less than a week ago the entire Russian team was threatened with exclusion from the main competitions of the four years.
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Not only Isinbayeva
The ranks of the Russian Olympic team have already thinned out considerably. So far, only 70 athletes have flown to Brazil, despite the fact that 387 athletes from the Russian Federation were originally planned to participate in the Games. Final composition The national team will become aware only on July 31. The list of losses, including potential medalists, could grow.
Russian Olympians: potential medalists who did not make it to Brazil
Swimmer Yulia Efimova
Swimming is one of the most medal-rich sports Olympic program. The Russians always had a good chance of success in it. However, one of their leaders, Yulia Efimova, bronze medalist of London 2012 and multiple world and European champion, will not go to Rio. The reason is disqualification in 2013 for using a steroid hormone. As for the meldonium scandal, there are no complaints about Efimova.
Russian Olympians: potential medalists who did not make it to Brazil
Swimmer Vladimir Morozov
24-year-old Vladimir Morozov, a multiple world and European champion and London relay bronze medalist, was also suspended from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. However, there is no open information about his violations yet - he has never been caught for doping before. Both Morozov, who lives and trains in the United States, and Efimova announced their intention to challenge their exclusion from the Games at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Russian Olympians: potential medalists who did not make it to Brazil
Cyclist Olga Zabelinskaya
Cyclist Olga Zabelinskaya, a two-time bronze medalist of the previous Games, was not allowed to participate in the current Games due to the use of octopamine in 2014. In February 2016, she entered into a pre-trial settlement agreement with International Union cyclists, which allowed her to start performing and take part in the Olympics. But the report of the WADA commission and the decision of the IOC deprived Zabelinskaya, a medal contender, of this chance.
Russian Olympians: potential medalists who did not make it to Brazil
Cyclist Ilnur Zakarin
Ilnur Zakarin, a repeated winner and medalist of cycling races in Europe and Russia, winner of stages at the prestigious Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, will not compete in Brazil due to the use of prohibited drugs in 2009.
Russian Olympians: potential medalists who did not make it to Brazil
Rower Ivan Podshivalov
Among the Russian rowing masters, three were not allowed to participate in the Olympics - Ivan Podshivalov (pictured), Anastasia Karabelshchikova (both for previous doping disqualifications) and Ivan Balandin. However, due to the inability to replace them, the Russian team actually lost many more athletes, since all the suspended athletes competed in the “eights”, counting on success in Brazil.
Russian Olympians: potential medalists who did not make it to Brazil
Weightlifter Tatyana Kashirina
Weightlifter Tatyana Kashirina would be the favorite in her heavyweight category in Rio. The 4-time world champion, multiple European champion took silver in London 2012, setting three world records. Kashirina had problems with doping that have come back to haunt her now 10 years ago, when at that time the 15-year-old athlete was disqualified for 2 years. It is still unclear whether other weightlifters from the Russian Federation will go to Brazil.
Russian Olympians: potential medalists who did not make it to Brazil
Pentathlete Maxim Kustov
Pentathlete Maxim Kustov, a world championship medalist in individual and team competitions, who was convicted of using trenbolone, methenolone and oxandrolone in 2014, was also suspended from the Games. The Moscow anti-doping laboratory, according to the WADA commission, hid this fact. The doping test of Kustov, like that of another Russian pentathlete who missed the Olympics, Ilya Frolov, was changed, the commission believes.
Russian Olympians: potential medalists who did not make it to Brazil
Wrestler Viktor Lebedev
Freestyle wrestler Viktor Lebedev, a two-time world champion, is not going to Brazil due to a disqualification from 2006, when, as an 18-year-old junior, he was caught using weight-loss drugs. In Rio, Lebedev had good reason to count on a medal.
Russian Olympians: potential medalists who did not make it to Brazil
The most successful and famous Russian tennis player was disqualified at the beginning of 2016 for using meldonium, and Maria Sharapova did not have time to talk about her Olympic plans. However, in 2012 she won Olympic silver and would hardly have settled for anything less at the Games in Brazil.
The final action in the main arena of Brazil was accompanied by a downpour, which slightly spoiled the mood of the participants in the “parade of heroes”, the spectators in the stands and the organizers of the ceremony. Although those who leave Rio in good mood, with a sense of accomplishment and a medal won, such a little thing as rain was unlikely to spoil the impression of the first Olympic Games in South America.
Medal standings
Sputnik, Maria Tsimintia
Few doubted that the US team would win the overall team competition. In 1992, during the Games in Barcelona, the Americans took second place, losing to the united CIS team. Since then, they have consistently been among the leaders in the team standings. The only misfire happened in Beijing in 2008, where they lost leadership to the Chinese.
© REUTERS / PAWEL KOPCZYNSKI
The British, who at the Games in Barcelona (1992) and Atlanta (1996) did not even make it into the top ten, but finished in the top ten in Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004), became second.
Until the penultimate day of competition, Russia waged a desperate struggle with Germany for fourth place and ultimately managed to get ahead of its competitors, winning two more golds. The final medal of the highest dignity for the Russian national team was brought by freestyle wrestler Soslan Ramonov.
The Georgian national team won seven medals at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and, in terms of the total number of awards won, repeated the result of the London Games. However, it surpassed them in terms of quality. Four years ago, Georgians climbed to the highest step of the podium only once. This time the Georgian anthem was played twice in Rio de Janeiro.
Georgian medalists of the XXXI Summer Olympic Games
Lasha Talakhadze (weightlifting, +105 kg)
Vladimir Khinchegashvili (freestyle wrestling, -57 kg)
Varlam Liparteliani (judo, -90 kg)
Lasha Shavdatuashvili (judo, -73 kg)
Irakli Turmanidze (weightlifting, +105 kg)
Shmagi Bolkvadze ( Greco-Roman wrestling, -66 kg)
Geno Petriashvili (freestyle wrestling, -125 kg)
© REUTERS / STOYAN NENOV
It is impossible not to note the amazing progress of the Azerbaijani Olympians, who won 18 medals (1-7-10) at the Games in Brazil. London indicator they exceeded by eight awards.
Heroes of the Olympics...
Swimmer Michael Phelps, who, for a moment, is already 31 years old, again “came, saw, conquered.” At the Rio Games, the American won five gold medals and became a 23 (!) time Olympic Champion. It is difficult to even imagine that anyone will even be able to approach such indicators in the near future.
© photo: Sputnik / Alexander Vilf
Michael Phelps (USA), winner gold medal in men's 200m medley swimming at the awards ceremony of the XXXI Summer Olympic Games.
Americans Katie Ledecky (swimming) and Simone Biles ( artistic gymnastics) were slightly behind Phelps, winning four golds each.
© photo: Sputnik / Alexey Filippov
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt again won three gold medals: 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100 relay, becoming a nine-time Olympic Champion. At the last three Olympics, Bolt has consistently won these disciplines.
© photo: Sputnik / Konstantin Chalabov
Usain Bolt (Jamaica) after finishing the 200m final during the men's track and field competition at the XXXI Summer Olympic Games.
...and "heroes of the Olympics"
The US women's track and field team dropped in the semifinals of the 4x100 meter relay. baton and failed to qualify for the deciding race. The Americans filed an appeal, saying they were interfered with by the Brazilian athletes. The appeal was granted. The US team was allowed to run through the semi-finals in splendid isolation. During the re-run, they showed a better time than their rivals from China, and the latter were “asked” from the final. The appeal of the Asian athletes was not satisfied, and the Americans became Olympic Champions.
Georgian heroes of Rio
If we do not take into account the Georgian athletes who won medals at the Rio Games, then Georgia has other heroes who have won the hearts of fans not only in their homeland, but also in the world.
Canoeist Zaza Nadiradze was incredibly happy when he was able to qualify for the Olympics. I couldn't even dream of more. But Nadiradze performed well in qualifying and reached the semi-finals of the single canoe competition at a distance of 200 meters. In the semi-finals he finished first, leaving behind the incumbent Olympic Champion Ukrainian Yuri Cheban and four-time World and European champion Valentin Demyanenko. But in the finals, nervousness and lack of experience in participating in competitions of this rank took their toll. As a result, Nadiradze took fifth place, but won the hearts of thousands of fans.
© REUTERS / MURAD SEZER
Seoul Olympic Champion (1988) in pistol shooting Nino Salukvadze came to Rio for her eighth Games in her career. A unique achievement among women in this sport. Salukvadze was able to reach the finals of the competition, but in the end she was left without a medal. After completing her performances, she said that she would most likely be preparing for the Tokyo Olympics - the ninth in a row.
© REUTERS / EDGARD GARRIDO
David Kharazishvili became the first marathon runner in the history of Georgia to win a license for the Olympic Games. The Georgian athlete started well, but at the 25th kilometer he felt a sharp pain in his side. He didn’t run for almost two kilometers, he just walked and even thought about withdrawing from the race. However, he found courage and crossed the finish line. In the end, he took 72nd place, but ended up in the first half of finishers and left 93 athletes behind him.
40 Georgian athletes went to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, which is a record figure. For the first time in the history of independent Georgia, the country was represented in such sports as: women's weightlifting (Anastasia Gottfried), women's judo (Esther Stam), men's shot put (Benik Abrahamyan), women's high jump (Valentina Lyashenko).
Green water Rio
The water in the pool of the Rio de Janeiro aquatics center, where the diving competition was supposed to be held, suddenly turned green, which baffled even the technical staff. It later turned out that this was due to 160 liters of hydrogen peroxide accidentally poured into the pool. The substance neutralized chlorine, which promoted the growth of “organic compounds,” including, possibly, seaweed. Despite the fact that the water did not pose a threat to the health of the athletes, it still had to be replaced.
Estonian trio
It's not uncommon for twins to compete at the Olympics—about 200 pairs have taken part in the games' history—but the Estonian trio of sisters set a record. Lili, Leila and Lina Luik, twin sisters from Estonia who took part in the marathon, baffled commentators as they could not tell one from the other.
© AFP / Marko Mumm
Invincible Mo Farah
The men's 10,000-meter race at the Olympics was the highlight of the second day of the track and field tournament in Rio de Janeiro. Briton Mo Farah, the main contender for the gold medal, fell about halfway through the race after contact with American Galen Rapp. However, the British runner quickly stood up, and Rapp slowed down and asked his opponent if he was okay. The incident did not prevent the Briton from winning Olympic gold, although after the race it seemed that he himself did not believe that this had happened.
Dive Miller
Bahamian sprinter Shauna Miller was able to win the 400m gold medal at the Rio Olympics, beating American Allison Felix by literally diving headfirst at the finish line. This movement is completely legal - according to the rules, the first person to finish is the one whose torso crosses the finish line first. After the race, Miller stated that the fall was not planned and she did not think about anything like that while running.
© REUTERS / LEONHARD FOEGER
Of the 387 declared for participation in the 2016 Summer Olympics Russian athletes no more than 200 will be able to compete in Rio de Janeiro. In addition to the 68 suspended domestic athletes, dozens of representatives of other disciplines will not compete in Brazil. British media believe that Russia's representation will be reduced to 40 people.
Deny admission
The decision to admit the Russian team to the Olympics caused a storm of emotions in the Western press. The American USA Today called the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) “a stunning lack of consequences for the largest state-sponsored doping program seen in sports since the GDR,” the British Daily Mail declared Sunday “the day the Olympic Games were destroyed,” and The Telegraph considered that “the white flag of surrender is flying over the IOC.”
The latest publication went even further: according to its journalists, the IOC will use the services of independent experts to “weed out” Russian athletes who were subjected to insufficiently strict anti-doping testing before the Rio Olympics. After this procedure, the composition of the Russian national team may be reduced to 40 people.
It is reported that with such actions the IOC will try to soften the critical attitude that appeared after the verdict regarding the domestic Olympic team. This means that almost 90 percent of Russian athletes declared to participate in the Games may ultimately not make it to the competition.
But so far the article in The Telegraph looks like nothing more than a horror story. According to Lenta.ru, the composition of the Olympic team may be reduced by half. The official list of Russian participants in the Games in Brazil will be announced on July 28. However, here everything depends on the opinion of the notorious “independent experts”, who, apparently, will be tasked with weeding out the maximum possible number of athletes.
“The lists are being reconciled, each of our sports federation interacts with the relevant international federation. There are some athletes who do not meet the IOC criteria. Based on the results of this work, conclusions will be drawn regarding the composition. The same newspaper has already made a forecast that our entire team will be banned,” Interfax quotes the head of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), Alexander Zhukov.
Last week, the ROC approved a list of 387 athletes, including 68 track and field athletes, to participate in the Olympics. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) allowed only long jumper Daria Klishina, who has been training in the USA in recent years, to the tournament in Rio. The rest were denied participation.
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) whistleblower Yulia Stepanova, who was not admitted based on a precedent related to the use of doping, will also not go to the Games. The athlete has already filed an appeal. “The decision is unfair, as it is based on incorrect and false statements,” Stepanova explained and noted that the IOC’s position contradicts previous verdicts of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). It was also noted that Stepanova and her husband Vitaly refused to accept the IOC's invitation to attend the Games as guests.
Open list
So far, the list of suspended Russians not associated with athletics, small. The head of the ROC, Alexander Zhukov, told TASS that the Russian team’s application for the Olympic Games included 13 athletes with a doping past, but did not name names: “I talked with almost all the presidents of the federations on summer species sports They are now actively working and checking the lists for athletes who have doping histories. According to my data, today there are 13 athletes.”
The International Swimming Federation (FINA) reported that seven people were deprived of the right to compete at the Olympics - Yulia Efimova, Anastasia Krapivina, Natalya Lovtsova, Mikhail Dovgalyuk, Vladimir Morozov, Nikita Lobintsev and Daria Ustinova. Most of them had serious chances for medals.
A representative of Efimova, who was previously admitted to the Games and then suspended again, has already announced the athlete’s intention to go to court. “We are now preparing Efimova’s lawsuit. Most likely, it will be submitted to CAS on July 29,” TASS quotes the swimmer’s lawyer Artem Patsev.
“Out of the seven people not allowed to the Olympics, three are surprising because they have absolutely no doping history,” Denis Pankratov, vice-president of the WFTU, said on the Russia-24 TV channel. - FINA refers to the WADA report, although just a month ago Rodchenkov (WADA informant - approx. "Tapes.ru") said that the swimming federation was not involved in this whole story. Now this is the main issue for the All-Russian Swimming Federation (RSF).
The decision also caused outrage in FINA. The head of the swimming federation, Julio Maglione, accused the WADA commission led by Richard McLaren of exceeding its powers: “With their recommendations, the members of the commission seriously exceeded their powers. Sooner or later, WADA will have to clarify everything - the functions of this organization include controlling doping and approving standards, and not discussing the situation in a particular country, this should be done by the IOC.”
It also became known that two Russian canoeists, Andrei Kreitor and Alexey Korovashkov, and three kayakers, Alexander Dyachenko, Elena Anyushina and Natalya Podolskaya, were suspended from the Games. “The International Canoe Federation (ICF) has taken swift action to suspend five Russian athletes from the Olympic Games after receiving additional information about the names mentioned in the McLaren report. "Athletes named in the report will no longer be eligible to take part in the Olympics, but the ICF will not impose a broad ban on the entire Russian Federation," the ICF statement said.
The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) announced the exclusion of Russian volleyball player Alexander Markin - the athlete had previously been temporarily suspended from competitions on suspicion of using meldonium. "I'm already home. In the morning the coach said that the FIVB did not allow me to participate in the Olympic Games. As for the national team, of course it will play,” TASS quotes Markin. The volleyball player emphasized that he would not protest the suspension.
In the coming hours, the list of suspended Russians will expand. The hunt continues.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne has declared illegal the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) rule banning Russians with a doping history from the 2016 Olympic Games. This is stated in the CAS documents.
On July 24, the IOC Executive Committee decided not to suspend the entire Russian team from the 2016 Olympics, leaving international federations the right to determine the names of athletes who will be able to compete at the Games in Rio de Janeiro. At the same time, the IOC adopted a resolution according to which Russian athletes who previously had problems with doping will not be allowed to participate in the Olympic Games. And this contradicted the Olympic Charter, which notes the impossibility of double punishment for the same offense.
“The IOC rule to exclude athletes who have ever been disqualified for doping from the 2016 Olympic Games is unenforceable,” CAS said.
The court made this decision based on the results of consideration of the cases of Russian rowers Anastasia Karabelshchikova and Ivan Podshivalov. CAS partially upheld the rowers' appeal, giving the International Rowing Federation (FISA) the right to decide on their eligibility for the Olympics. Later, the federation announced that it had sent Podshivalov’s candidacy for participation in the Games to the IOC commission, and Karabelshchikova did not meet the federation’s criteria for participation in the Olympics.
The court also called the doping history criterion unqualified. CAS decided that it was at odds with the stated purpose of giving athletes the opportunity to rebut the presumption of guilt. "CAS concluded that paragraph 3 of the IOC decision is unenforceable because it does not respect athletes' right to fairness," the release said.
This decision set a serious precedent for the participation of Russian athletes in the 2016 Olympic Games. Thus, several more Russian athletes may receive the green light to participate in the tournament, since this, in essence, means that any other lawsuit based on challenging the same point of the IOC's decision will be automatically satisfied.
Thus, on August 4, CAS, almost immediately after the decision was made in the cases of Karabelshchikova and Podshivalov, announced both the partial satisfaction of the claim and Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova. Now Efimova’s admission to the games depends on the International Swimming Federation (FINA). “The point is whether it meets the criteria of the international federation. You need to immediately submit an application there,” said sports lawyer Mikhail Prokopets in his Facebook. “We hope that literally in the first half of Friday Yulia will be included in the Olympic bid from Russia,” TASS reports the words of the athlete’s agent Andrei Mitkov.
The cases of another Russian swimmer Daria Ustinova, rower Andrei Kreitor and wrestler Viktor Lebedev are also being considered by CAS. Swimmers Natalya Lovtsova, Anastasia Krapivina, Mikhail Dovgalyuk and cyclist Olga Zabelinskaya can appeal the IOC ban.
