Russia out of Paralympics after losing appeal against doping ban

Russian athletes won’t be able to participate at the Rio Paralympics. The Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport [CAS] rejected an appeal by Russia against the decision to ban the country from Games. That ban was imposed after evidence of state-run doping was found.

Russian President Vladimir Putin stands during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Reuters

“Tragically this situation is not about athletes cheating the system,” says Philip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee, that decided on the ban in the first place.

“It is about a state-run system that is cheating the athletes. The doping culture that is polluting Russian sport stems from the Russian government and and is now being uncovered in not one, but two independent commission reports by the World Anti-Doping Agency,” he says.

“Our decision is driven by the need to hold our members accountable for their obligations on the basis of the evidence we have in the current environment our member, the Russian Paralympic Committee cannot comply with the IPC's anti-doping code and the world anti-doping code.”

Russia lost its appeal. “The IPC decision is confirmed,” says the Court of Arbitration for Sport in a statement out of Lausanne.

“Following revelations related to the doping system in Russia, the IPC Governing Board suspended the RPC from IPC membership due to its alleged inability to fulfil its responsibilities and obligations to comply with the IPC Anti-doping Code and the World Anti-doping Code.”

Russian supporters reacted angrily, saying that the ban and the latest ruling by the CAS at this is all part of a western plot to discredit the country.

TASS news agency quotes Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko as calling the CAS’s rejection of Russia's appeal "political," adding that “it was not in the legal domain”.

The Paralympics are set to start on September 7.