Russia to Appeal against Weightlifting Ban

RIO OLYMPICS SPECIAL

The Russian weightlifting federation will appeal against the ban imposed on its team for the Rio Olympics.

Individual sport federations must rule on whether Russians can compete in Rio following the country’s doping scandal.

The International Weightlifting Federation excluded the eight Russians entered for Rio last week after a report into state-sponsored doping.

The appeal will go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport before the Games, which start on 5 August.

Two of the eight-strong weightlifting team had already been banned for prior doping violations, and another four were named in Dr Richard McLaren’s report into the issue.
The World Anti-Doping Agency had recommended all Russian athletes be excluded from Rio 2016, but weightlifting and athletics are the only sports to have imposed a blanket ban on competitors from the country.