All Russian Weightlifters Banned from Olympics

(ATR) The IWF joins the IAAF in imposing a blanket ban on Russians competing at Rio 2016 over doping violations.

Russia's eight-strong weightlifting team was banned Friday by the IWF Executive Board. The decision followed a review of WADA investigator Richard McLaren’s report on state-sponsored doping. The damning findings triggered the IOC’s decision to leave the question of Russia’s participation in Rio to the federations.

Tatiana Kashirina and Anastasiia Romanova were banned due to previous doping offenses, in line with the IOC’s eligibility rules for federations to rule on Russians laid out last Sunday. Four other athletes were named in the McLaren report as benefiting from Russia’s Disappearing Positive Methodology system.

The IWF also noted that, as of July 29, there are seven confirmed doping violations for Russian lifters from the combined reanalysis of doping samples from the London and Beijing Olympics. A second wave of Beijing reanalyses may reveal more.

The federation labeled the statistics concerning Russian weightlifters as "extremely shocking and disappointing". The IWF said Russians had "brought the weightlifting sport into disrepute".

"The integrity of the weightlifting sport has been seriously damaged on multiple times and levels by the Russians, therefore an appropriate sanction was applied in order to preserve the status of the sport," the IWF said in a statement.

The eight Russian places at Rio 2016 have been reallocated to other countries.

The IAAF had already banned the Russian track and field team – 67 athletes – from Rio.

In total, more than 100 Russians have been barred from the Games following the decisions of various federations through this week since the IOC’s decision to reject calls for a total ban on the Russian Olympic Committee last Sunday.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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