Russian doping scandal: Court of Arbitration for Sport upholds ban on track and field athletes ahead of Rio 2016 Olympics

The 68 Russian athletes who appealed against their bans from Rio 2016 lost their case today — putting more pressure on the International Olympic Committee to suspend all of the country’s squad from the Games.

Two-time Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva and 110metres hurdles world champion Sergey Shubenkov were among the athletes who took their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport following the IAAF ruling to exclude the entire Russian track and field team from Rio de Janeiro.

But this morning the CAS backed the original IAAF decision, which was taken in November.

That ruling does not affect Yuliya Stepanova, a key whistleblower in lifting the lid on Russian doping, or Darya Klishina, who trains outside the Russian system in the United States. The pair will compete under the Olympic flag at the Games.

There were calls for a blanket ban on Russia from Rio 2016 following the publication on Monday of the report by lawyer Richard McLaren, which exposed widespread state‑doping in the country.

The following day the International Olympic Committee said they would “explore all legal possibilities” regarding such a ban but would wait until today’s CAS ruling before deciding on their next step.

The IOC are expected to make a final decision by Wednesday and could pass the onus onto the individual international sporting federations with regards to Russian participation in Rio. Time is of the essence with the Games starting two weeks tomorrow.