IOC President Thomas Bach Allows Vetted Russian Athletes To Compete At Rio Games

Russian athletes who pass an individual test by the International Association of Athletics Federations to show they are clean will be allowed to compete for their country at the Rio Games in August, Olympics chief Thomas Bach said early Tuesday.

IOC President Allows Vetted Russian Athletes To Compete At Rio Games

“If there are athletes qualified then they will compete as members of the team of the Russian Olympic Committee,” Bach, who is the president of the International Olympic Committee, told reporters.

Bach also dismissed suggestions that Russian track and field stars could compete under a neutral or Olympic flag, as had been speculated after the IAAF extended its ban on these athletes on Friday. The ban extension came after Russian government officials and coaches were found to have been involved in assisting in the doping of said track and field athletes.

In explaining his equivocating, Bach, who is a lawyer and former fencer, said only national organizing committees can enter athletes in the Games. Except that isn’t exactly the case.

Athletes from the former Yugoslavia competed under the Olympic flag in Barcelona because their country’s breakup left them with no nation to represent. Similarly, a marathoner from South Sudan competed under the Olympic flag in London because his newly formed country did not yet have an Olympic committee.

Earlier this month, the IOC approved a 10-person refugee team that will compete under the Olympic flag.

“There is no contradiction,” Bach insisted. “The Russian Olympic Committee is not suspended, and if you read again the report of the IAAF task force, there you see that the Russian Olympic Committee was very helpful in clearing up the difficult situation in Russia.”

The report from the World Anti-Doping Agency released last week reveals positive tests, athletes not reporting their whereabouts and interference with doping control officers, among other issues.

LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 06: Yuliya Zaripova of Russia celebrates after winning the gold medal in the Women’s 3000m Steeplechase final on Day 10 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on August 6, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)