271 Russian Athletes Granted Permission to Compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics

Alexander Zhukov, the president of the Russian Olympic Committee, stated on Thursday that 271 out of 387 Russian athletes have been granted permission to participate in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The International Olympic Committee has also confirmed this in a statement, according to CNN. The report indicates that 118 Russian athletes were unable to obtain authorization to compete in the Rio Olympics. CNN reports that the approval for 271 Russian athletes can be seen as a success for the country, especially since the World Anti-Doping Agency had previously accused Russia of organized and state-sponsored doping. Critics had earlier called for a complete ban on Russia's participation in the 2016 Olympics. Following the report from the World Anti-Doping Agency, the International Olympic Committee announced the formation of a three-member panel to assess and determine the eligibility of Russian athletes to clarify who would be allowed to compete in the Rio Olympics. Currently, hundreds of Russian athletes are in Brazil for the Rio Olympics, which begins on Friday. Some of these athletes are entering the Olympic Village while others are preparing to return to Russia. In this context, the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed the ban on Russian athletics from the Olympics, and a draft letter to the International Olympic Committee was prepared, urging them not to allow Russia to go to Rio. A re-examination of tests represents the biggest crisis in the history of Russian sports.