Rio Olympics: Russia to be represented

Russia will be represented at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) president Alexander Zhukov has said.



"No doubt, our team will be represented. We hope that our athletes will perform successfully at the Olympics in Rio," Zhukov said on Wednesday, reports Tass.



The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is actively working with Russia&’s federation and a new committee has been set up that cooperates with the IAAF, he said.



"Most likely, the IAAF council will be convened in June and the final decision will be made on restoring our federation. The possibility of participation of our athletes in Rio will depend on this," Zhukov said.



"I think that the All-Russia Athletics Federation (ARAF) and the newly created committee actively work with the international federation and the demands that were made are being met. I think that these working contacts should produce a positive result," he added.



Russin sports was in the centre of doping-related scandals since the fall of 2014. Following a series of high-profile doping scandals involving the ARAF last year, the IAAF suspended the Russian federation&’s membership in the global governing body of athletics and put forward six criteria, which the ARAF must implement to restore its membership.



Experts say it is entirely possible that Russian national athletics teams will be suspended from the Rio Olympics this year following the findings of the Independent Commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).



In March, Russian sports was hit by a new case in a chain of doping-related scandals after some of the country&’s athletes tested positive for banned substance Meldonium.

Advertisement