Top of the order is the Russian doping scandal as the world governing body of rowing, FISA announced on Tuesday that 22 of Russia's 28 rowers entered for the Olympics will not be allowed to take part, after failing to meet the IOC's special criteria for the country. But it's good news for their archery team as all three of the Russian athletes who qualified will be able to compete.

Speaking in Lausanne, Switzerland, FISA president Jean-Christophe Rolland said that only six Russian rowers have passed the new doping criteria and will be able to take part in the Summer Games. FISA had initially announced on Monday that only three Russian rowers would be barred from competing, two because of past doping offences, while another athlete's samples had been manipulated by the Moscow anti-doping laboratory. But now 19 more rowers have also been declared ineligible because of non-credible doping controls carried out in Moscow between 2011 and 2016.

"As the IOC decision explains, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the tests that the Russian rowers had undergone since 2011. In light of the results, the executive committee decided to retain only a few of the athletes who were due to take part in the Games. So out of the whole Russian delegation - we won't submit to the IOC the whole set of names which have been selected by the Russian Olympic committee and were registered for the Games before July 18th, we will retain only six out of the whole," FISA president Jean-Christophe Rolland said.

"One athlete's doping test went missing and they should find out why. The other violated the application rule for a drug that should have been taken orally, but he was given an injection which is prohibited in principle. So he violated the rules, I don't say that he didn't. Only the third athlete tested positive for a banned drug," Russian Rowing Federation President Veniamin But said.

Some of Russia's banned rowers will be replaced by Australia's women's eight team at the Games, which tips the balance of the Aussie team slightly in favour of the ladies over the men. Their inclusion means that 50.4 percent of the 419 athletes in the squad will be women thus creating a slight majority for the fairer sex for the first time in Australia's Olympic history.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)