Nearly a week after the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) banned Russia from competing in the Rio Games, the Russian Paralympic Committee officially filed an appeal set to take place on Sunday, August 21.
The ruling will be announced by CAS (Court of Arbitration) by midnight on Monday, August 22.
Earlier this month, on Sunday, August 7, the IPC came to the decision of banning all Russian Paralympic athletes, due to the country’s role in violating the IPC’s international doping rules and regulations.
“This decision has placed a huge burden upon all our shoulders, but it’s a decision we’ve had to take in the best interests of the Paralympic Movement,” IPC’s President, Sir Philip Craven states.
“It is our responsibility to ensure fair competition, so that athletes can have confidence that they are competing on a level playing field. This is vital to the integrity and credibility of Paralympic sport, and in order to achieve this it is fundamental that each member abides by the rules.”
See the full statement from President Craven here.
According to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) report, approximately 50 Russian athletes, including Paralympic athletes, were caught for an anti-doping violation.
“With the full facts to hand, we were deeply saddened to find that the State-sponsored doping programme that exists within Russian sport regrettably extends to Russian Para sport as well,” states President Crane, regarding the Paralympic ban.
Since 2011, there have been numerous “disappearing positive samples” at the Moscow Lab, where both Russian athletes and para-athletes have been tested, according to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
See WADA’s full report here.
Among the top athletes banned from the Rio Paralympic Games are Evgenii Shvetsov, Olesya Vladykina, Valeriia Shabalina, Darya Stukalova. All whom play a vital role within the Paralympic games and are strong contenders for winning gold in Rio.
See the full list of athletes currently serving inedibility for an anti-doping violation here.
The Paralympic Games are set to take place in Rio on September 7, with 267 Russian athletes waiting to learn about a possible reinstatement this coming Monday.