Right to rule: International Olympic Committee sets up three person panel to decide on Russian entries
The group will decide on the entry of athletes whose names have been forwarded to compete by their international sports federations and approved by an independent arbitrator
A three person International Olympic Committee panel will make a final ruling on which individual Russian athletes are allowed to compete in the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.
The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) ruling executive board, meeting on Saturday for the final time before the opening of the Games on Friday, said the panel will decide on the entry of Russian athletes whose names have been forwarded to compete by their international sports federations and approved by an independent arbitrator.
“This panel will decide whether to accept or reject that final proposal,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said.
“We want to make it absolutely clear that we are the ones making the final call.”
The move comes amid a doping scandal that has led to the exclusion of more than 100 Russian athletes connected to state-sponsored cheating. More than 250 Russian athletes have been cleared to compete by the federations.