Thought the whole Russian doping scandal had blown over? Nope. Not one bit.
Only three days ago, 271 Russian athletes were cleared to take part in the Olympic Games in Brazil by the International Olympic Committee after the World Anti-Doping Association claimed the country were running what was described as being a state-sponsored doping programme.
But 118 Russian competitors were not able to compete.
Although the IOC opted not to enforce a blanket ban over Russian athletes at the Games, the International Paralympic Committee has not followed suit.
The IPC announced on Sunday that All Paralympian athletes from Russia would be prevented from taking part in the Rio 2016 Paralympics following the findings of the McLaren report – published last month.
“The anti-doping system in Russia is broken, corrupted and entirely compromised,” said president Sir Philip Craven at a news conference.
“The Russian Paralympic Committee are unable to ensure compliance with and enforcement of the IPC anti-doping code and the world anti-doping code within their own national jurisdiction and they can not fulfil its fundamental obligation as an IPC member.
“As a result, the Russian Paralympic Committee is suspended with immediate effect.”
The Paralympics are scheduled to begin in Brazil on August 29, ending on September 9. Maybe don’t bother putting that in your diaries if you’re Russian.
