International federations rule — one by one — on Russian Olympic athletes
When Olympic leaders recently declined to ban Russia from the 2016 Summer Games, they handed the decision-making process to the international federations that govern each sport.
Now, many of those 28 federations are responding.
Officials in the sport of canoe announced Tuesday that five Russians — including Olympic champion Alexander Dyachenko — have been barred from competing in Rio de Janeiro.
All five were named in a recent World Anti-Doping Agency report that offered further allegations of widespread cheating in Russia.
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“This is a bitter blow for the Olympic movement and we are saddened that our sport is implicated,” Simon Toulson, the federation’s general secretary, said in a statement.
Also on Tuesday, modern pentathlon officials announced the exclusion of two Russians in their sport.
The entire Russian track contingent has been banned from international competition since last year. Seven swimmers were barred this week.
But federations in archery, equestrian, shooting and tennis said they do not expect to take any such action. The same goes for judo, whose honorary president is Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It remains to be seen what marquee sports such as gymnastics, volleyball and wrestling will do.
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