No Decision Yet on Russian Sailors at Rio Games

Following an incorrect report by the Russian News Agency TASS, World Sailing has offered the following statement regarding the eligibility of sailing athletes from Russia at the Rio Games:
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Having received the decision on 24 July 2016 by the International Olympic Committee Executive Board, World Sailing will now convene a meeting of its Board of Directors early this week to make a final determination regarding the eligibility of the seven sailing athletes who have met the Olympic Qualification Standard and have been nominated by the Russian National Olympic Committee to compete in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Decisions regarding the eligibility of athletes will be made in full adherence to the rules and eligibility guidelines of World Sailing.

Once the determinations regarding eligibility have been made in-line with the IOC announcement, the athletes and their Member National Authority will be notified, after which World Sailing will issue a press release addressing the eligibility of the Russian athletes.
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The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Independent Commission had released a report on July 18 on the results of its probe into the accusations of doping and manipulation of tests by Russian athletes and officials at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games.

The report claimed that the commission found evidence that Russia’s Sports Ministry and the Center for the Training of Russian National Teams and the Federal Security Service had covered up the doping program in Russian sports.

On July 24, the executive board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided against barring the Russian national team from participation in the Rio Olympics, instead placing the decision on each sport’s international authority whether to admit Russian athletes to the Summer Olympic Games in Brazil.

World Sailing expects to release their decision this week.

Sailing at the Summer Olympic Games in Brazil will be held on August 8-19.

Useful links: Event information – Racing schedule – Entry list – NBC broadcast