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 can still undergo changes. August 4 Sports arbitration court in Lausanne (CAS) recognized as "null and void" the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to exclude Russian athletes from the Olympic Games in Rio who were previously convicted of doping, even if their sentence had expired.
The decision to abolish double punishment was taken by the arbitration during the consideration of the cases of Russian rowers Ivan Podshivalov and Anastasia Karabelshchikova. CAS partially granted 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 for Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova. Now the decisions on the non-admission of individual athletes to the Olympics, previously taken by the relevant international federations, can be reviewed.
To date, according to the IOC, 271 athletes from Russia have the right to compete in Rio - with 387 originally declared. Russia's final bid for the Games will have to be approved by a three-member special commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which, in particular, will reconsider cases of athletes eligible to participate in the Games in accordance with the latest CAS decision.
In athletics everything is hard, in weightlifting it is not easier
In total, sets of medals in 33 sports will be played in Brazil. The Russians did not qualify for the Olympics in rugby, field hockey, football and basketball. After doping scandal with athletes, Russia in the "Queen of Sports" will be represented by only one athlete - long jumper Daria Klishina. Until the last moment, there was uncertainty about the only Russian participant in the golf tournament - Maria Verchenova, however, in response to a request from DW, Verchenova's official representative said that she would start in Brazil.
In weightlifting, the situation is quite sad - the entire Russian team has been suspended, without exception. Of course, Daria Klishina alone will not greatly affect the medal alignment, but the Russian team still has one chance for an athletics podium. And weightlifters have no chance left.
"The Russians have repeatedly inflicted serious damage on the reputation of weightlifting. Therefore, in order to maintain the status of a 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 come across 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 put up a “small team” in weightlifting, but these dreams also came to naught.
Some go to in full force
With other disciplines the situation is clearer. Apparently, the Games will be attended by Russian teams in volleyball - men's and women's (both are traditionally among the favorites, especially men, champions of London 2012), handball players, boxers, synchronized swimmers, as well as a table tennis team. All these athletes - there are about 70 of them - on Thursday, July 28, flew in an organized manner from Moscow to Brazil on a regular flight.
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 gymnastics, trampolining, fencing, shooting, triathlon, beach volleyball, judo, equestrianism, tennis and taekwondo.
Archers and badminton players do not expect difficulties. Representatives of these sports will either fly to Rio de Janeiro later, or are already in South America. In total, all these sports give at least 153 participants.
Minimum loss
The team of Russian wrestlers lost one athlete - two-time champion world freestyle wrestling Viktor Lebedev will miss the Olympics due to disqualification from 2006. However, 16 other wrestlers must take the mat in Rio. One participant of the Russian Federation will not be counted in modern pentathlon and in sailing. The pentathletes have removed Maxim Kustov, and three of his teammates are flying to Brazil.
The situation is similar for yachtsmen. According to the press service of the All-Russian Sailing Federation, 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 able to be replaced, since he is part of a two-man crew.
In water sports, only swimmers have losses - seven people are disqualified, thirty will start. Synchronized swimmers, water polo players (the men's team was not selected for the Olympics) and divers have no problems with admission - a total of 60 representatives will go to Rio aquatic species sports from Russia.
Squads 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 - 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 participating in the Olympics by the 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 miss the cyclists. It was assumed that the honor of Russia in Rio will be defended by 17 athletes. Absolutely, Olga Zabelinskaya, Ilnur Zakarin and Sergey Shilov, who in the past served a disqualification for doping, will not go to the Olympics. Two more athletes - Kirill Sveshnikov and Dmitry Sokolov - were suspended due to being mentioned in the report of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
This document also contains another surname, but it has not yet been announced. Russian cyclist coach Alexander Kuznetsov, in a letter to the head of the IOC, Thomas Bach, called for the decision on Sveshnikov and Sokolov to be canceled, but for now, 11 Russian cyclists should be expected to take to the track and highway in Brazil.
If all of the above figures change (some Russian athletes have applied to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS), then most likely not much. Over 260 Russian participants at the Olympics in Rio is a very good result, given that even less than a week ago the entire Russian team was threatened with suspension from the main starts of the four years.
See also:
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Not only Isinbayeva
The ranks of the Russian Olympic team have already thinned out. 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 be known 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-intensive sports Olympic program. In it, the Russians have always had a good chance of success. However, one of their leaders, Yulia Efimova, the London 2012 bronze medalist and multiple world and European champion, will not go to Rio. The reason is the disqualification in 2013 for the use of a steroid hormone. As for the meldonium scandal, there are no complaints against Efimova.
Russian Olympians: potential medalists who did not make it to Brazil
Swimmer Vladimir Morozov
Vladimir Morozov, 24, a multiple world and European champion and London relay bronze medalist, has also been suspended from the Rio Olympics. However, there is no open information about his violations yet - he has not previously come across doping. Both Morozov, who lives and trains in the US, and Efimova announced their intention to challenge the ban from the Games in 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 at the previous Games, was banned from the current Games due to her use of octopamine in 2014. In February 2016, she entered into an amicable pre-trial agreement with International Union cyclists, allowing 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 contender for the medal, of this chance.
Russian Olympians: potential medalists who did not make it to Brazil
Cyclist Ilnur Zakarin
Ilnur Zakarin, multiple winner and medalist of cycling races in Europe and Russia, winner of the prestigious stages of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, will not compete in Brazil in 2009 due to the use of illegal drugs.
Russian Olympians: potential medalists who did not make it to Brazil
Rower Ivan Podshivalov
Among the Russian masters of academic rowing, three are not allowed to 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 were part of the "eights", counting on success in Brazil.
Russian Olympians: potential medalists who did not make it to Brazil
Weightlifter Tatyana Kashirina
Weightlifter Tatyana Kashirina in Rio would be the favorite in her heavyweight category. 4-time world champion, multiple European champion in London 2012 took silver, setting three world records. Problems with doping that came back to haunt Kashirina 10 years ago, when at that time the 15-year-old athlete was disqualified for 2 years. Whether other weightlifters from the Russian Federation will go to Brazil is still unclear.
Russian Olympians: potential medalists who did not make it to Brazil
Pentathlete Maxim Kustov
Suspended from the Games and pentathlete Maxim Kustov, winner of the world championships in individual and team competitions, in 2014 convicted of using trenbolone, methenolone and oxandrolone. The Moscow anti-doping laboratory, according to the WADA commission, hid this fact. The doping test of Kustov, like that of another Russian pentathlete, Ilya Frolov, who missed the Olympics, was substituted, 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 traveling to Brazil due to a 2006 ban after he was caught using weight loss drugs as an 18-year-old junior. In Rio, Lebedev counted on a medal not without reason.
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 less at the Games in Brazil.
The final action on the main arena of Brazil was accompanied by a downpour, which slightly spoiled the mood of the participants in the "parade of heroes", spectators in the stands and the organizers of the ceremony. Although those who leave Rio in good mood, with a sense of accomplishment and with a medal won, such a trifle as rain hardly spoiled the impression of the first Olympic Games in South America.
medal standings
Sputnik, Maria Tsimintia
Few doubted that the US team would win the team event. In 1992, during the Games in Barcelona, the Americans took second place, losing to the unified CIS team. Since then, they have consistently been among the leaders of the team standings. The only "misfire" happened in Beijing in 2008, where they lost the lead to the Chinese.
© REUTERS / PAWEL KOPCZYNSKI
The British, who at the Games in Barcelona (1992) and Atlanta (1996) did not even get into the top ten, and closed it in Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004), became the second.
Until the penultimate day of the competition, Russia fought desperately with Germany for fourth place and eventually managed to get ahead of the competition, having won two gold more. Freestyle wrestler Soslan Ramonov brought the final medal of the highest dignity to the Russian national team.
The Georgian team at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro won seven medals and repeated the result of the London Games in terms of the total number of medals won. However, it surpassed them in terms of quality. Four years ago, Georgians only once rose to the highest step of the podium. 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. They exceeded the London figure 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 (!) times Olympic Champion. It is difficult to even imagine that someone will even be able to approach such indicators in the near future.
© photo: Sputnik / Alexander Vilf
Michael Phelps (USA), winner gold medal in the men's 200m individual medley at the awards ceremony of the XXXI Summer Olympic Games.
American Kathy Ledecky (swimming) and Simone Biles ( gymnastics) were slightly behind Phelps, winning four gold 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 in these disciplines.
© photo: Sputnik / Konstantin Chalabov
Usain Bolt (Jamaica) after finishing the 200m final during the men's track and field event at XXXI Summer Olympic Games.
...and "heroes of the Olympics"
Athletes of the US women's team in the semifinals of the 4x100 meters relay dropped baton and failed to qualify for the deciding run. The Americans filed an appeal, stating that Brazilian athletes prevented them. The appeal was granted. Team USA was allowed to run the semi-finals in splendid isolation. During the second run, they showed the time better than that of 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 there are other heroes in Georgia who won the hearts of fans not only in their homeland, but also in the world.
Canoeist Zaza Nadiradze was extremely happy when he was able to qualify for the Olympics. More could not even be dreamed of. But Nadiradze successfully performed in the qualification and advanced to the semi-finals of the single canoe competition at a distance of 200 meters. In the semi-finals, he finished first, leaving behind the current Olympic Champion Ukrainian Yuri Cheban and four-time World and European champion Valentin Demyanenko. But in the final, nervousness and lack of experience in participating in competitions of this rank affected. As a result, Nadiradze took fifth place, but won the hearts of thousands of fans.
© REUTERS / MURAD SEZER
Seoul Olympic Champion (1988) in sport 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 final of the competition, but in the end she was left without a medal. After the completion of the 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 had a good start, but on the 25th kilometer he felt a sharp pain in his side. For almost two kilometers, he did not run, but simply walked and even thought of withdrawing from the race. However, he found the courage and crossed the finish line. In the end, he took 72nd place, but was in the first half of the finishers and left behind 93 athletes.
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), shot put for men (Benik Abrahamyan), high jump for women (Valentina Lyashenko).
Green water Rio
The water in the pool of the water sports center in Rio de Janeiro, where the diving competition was supposed to take place, suddenly turned green, which baffled even the technical staff. Later it turned out that this was due to 160 liters of hydrogen peroxide accidentally poured into the pool. The substance neutralized chlorine, which contributed to the growth of "organic compounds", including, possibly, algae. 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 – in the history of the games, about 200 couples have participated in them – but the Estonian trio of sisters has become a record. Lili, Leila and Lina Luik, twin sisters from Estonia who took part in the marathon, baffled commentators as they couldn't tell one from the other.
© AFP / Marko Mumm
Invincible Mo Farah
The men's 10,000 meters race at the Olympics became the highlight of the second day of the athletics tournament in Rio de Janeiro. Briton Mo Farah, the main contender for the gold medal, fell about halfway through after contact with American Galen Rapp. However, the British runner got up quickly, and Rapp slowed down and asked his opponent if he was all right. The incident did not prevent the Briton from winning Olympic gold, although after the distance it seemed that he himself did not believe that this had happened.
Dive Miller
Bahamian sprinter Shona Miller was able to win the gold medal in the 400 meters at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, ahead of American Allison Felix, literally "diving" head first at the finish line. This movement is perfectly legal - according to the rules, it is considered that the first to finish was the one whose torso crossed the finish line first. After the race, Miller stated that this fall was not planned and she did not think about anything during the run.
© REUTERS / LEONHARD FOEGER
Of the 387 applicants for the 2016 Summer Olympics Russian athletes no more than 200 will be able to perform in Rio de Janeiro. In addition to 68 suspended domestic athletes, dozens of representatives of other disciplines will not perform in Brazil. British media believe that Russia's representation will be reduced to 40 people.
Deny permission
The decision to admit the Russian team to the Olympics caused a storm of emotions in the Western press. American USA Today called the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) "a stunning lack of consequences for the largest state-sponsored doping program that has not been in sports since the GDR", the British Daily Mail declared Sunday "the day the Olympic Games were destroyed", and The Telegraph considered that "a white flag of surrender is flying over the IOC."
The latest edition went even further: according to its journalists, the IOC will use the services of independent experts to “weed out” Russian athletes who have undergone insufficiently rigorous anti-doping checks before the Rio Olympics. After the aforementioned procedure, the composition of the Russian national team can be reduced to 40 people.
It is reported that with such actions, the IOC will try to mitigate the critical attitude that appeared after the verdict against domestic Olympic team. This means that almost 90 percent of Russian athletes entered for the Games may end up not making it to the competition.
But so far, the note in The Telegraph looks like nothing more than a horror story. According to Lenta.ru, the composition of the Olympic team could be halved. 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 federations interacts with the relevant international federation. There are individual athletes who do not meet the criteria of the IOC. Based on the results of this work, conclusions will be drawn about the composition. The same newspaper has already made a prediction once that our entire team will be banned, ”Interfax quotes Alexander Zhukov, head of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).
Last week, the ROC approved a list of 387 athletes for participation in the Olympics, including 68 athletes. 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.
The informant of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Yulia Stepanova, who was not allowed on the basis of a precedent related to the use of doping, will 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 position of the IOC contradicts the previous verdicts of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). It was also noted that Stepanova and her husband Vitaly refused to accept an invitation from the IOC to visit 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 there were 13 athletes with a doping past in the application of the Russian national team for the Olympic Games, but did not name names: “I spoke with almost all the presidents of the federations on summer species sports. They are now actively working and verifying the lists for the presence of athletes who had doping histories. According to my data, today it is 13 athletes.”
The International Swimming Federation (FINA) announced 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.
The representative of Efimova, previously admitted to the Games, and then again suspended, has already announced the intention of the athlete to go to court. “Now we are preparing a lawsuit by Efimova. Most likely, it will be filed with the CAS on July 29, ”TASS quotes the swimmer’s lawyer Artem Patsev.
“Out of the seven people not admitted to the Olympics, three are surprising, who have absolutely no doping history,” Denis Pankratov, vice-president of the WFTU, said on the air of the Rossiya-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 (VFTU).
The decision sparked outrage at FINA as well. The head of the swimming federation, Julio Maglione, accused the WADA commission led by Richard McLaren of exceeding his authority: “The members of the commission seriously exceeded their authority with their recommendations. Sooner or later, WADA will have to clarify everything - the functions of this organization include doping control and the approval of standards, and not reasoning about the situation in a particular country, this should be done by the IOC.
It also became known about the removal from the Games of two Russian canoeists - Andrei Kreitor and Alexei Korovashkov, and three kayakers - Alexander Dyachenko, Elena Anyushina and Natalia Podolskaya. “The International Canoe Federation (ICF) has taken swift action to bar five Russian athletes from the Olympics after receiving additional information about the names mentioned in the McLaren report. The athletes named in the report will no longer be eligible to compete in the Olympics, but the ICF will not impose a broad ban on all Russian Federation", the ICF said in a statement.
The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) announced the non-admission of Russian volleyball player Alexander Markin - earlier the athlete was temporarily suspended from the competition 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, it will, of course, play, ”TASS quotes Markin. The volleyball player stressed 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 rule of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to exclude Russians with a doping record from the 2016 Olympic Games. This is stated in the CAS documents.
On July 24, the IOC Executive Board decided not to remove the entire Russian team from the 2016 Olympics, leaving the 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 was contrary to the Olympic Charter, which notes the impossibility of double punishment for the same offense.
“The IOC rule to exclude from the 2016 Olympic Games athletes who have ever been disqualified for doping is null and void,” the CAS said in a statement.
The court made such a decision after considering the cases of Russian rowers Anastasia Karabelshchikova and Ivan Podshivalov. CAS partially granted the rowers' appeal, giving the International Rowing Federation (FISA) the right to decide on their admission to participate in the Olympics. Later, the federation announced that it had sent Podshivalov's candidacy for participation in the Games to the IOC commission, and Karabelshchikov did not meet the federation's criteria for participation in the Olympics.
The court also called the doping history criterion unqualified. The CAS decided that it was at odds with its stated purpose of giving athletes the opportunity to rebut the presumption of guilt. "CAS has concluded that paragraph 3 of the IOC decision is null and void because it does not respect the athletes' right to fairness," the release said.
This decision set a serious precedent for the participation of Russian athletes in the 2016 Olympics. Thus, several more Russian athletes may receive a green light to participate in the tournament, since this, in essence, means that any other claim based on contesting the same decision point of the IOC will be automatically satisfied.
So, on August 4, CAS, almost immediately after the decision 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 satisfies the criteria of an international federation. We 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 application from Russia,” TASS reports the words of the athlete’s agent Andrei Mitkov.
The cases of another Russian swimmer - Daria Ustinova, rower Andrey Kreitor and wrestler Viktor Lebedev are also under consideration at CAS. Swimmers Natalya Lovtsova, Anastasia Krapivina, Mikhail Dovgalyuk and cyclist Olga Zabelinskaya can appeal against the IOC ban.
