The governing body of aquatics for the 2016 Rio Olympics has banned seven Russian swimmers for doping violations.
Last week, a report by the World Anti-Doping Agency revealed that Russia’s security services had tampered with sealed urine samples to help athletes. The scheme was directed by the country’s sport authorities to cover up doping of winter and summer sports which eventually led to the investigation that resulted in the ban.
“This is about doing justice to clean athletes all over the world. In this way we protect these clean athletes,” International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said Sunday in a call to reporters.
Years before Russia has always done well in Olympic sports. They finished with 33 medals, including 13 gold at the Sochi Winter Games in 2014. Two years before that, Russian athletes won 22 gold medals, and 79 total medals.
In the official statement released Monday, WADA called for the decline of all athletic entries for Rio 2016 from the Russian Olympic Committee and the Russian Paralympic Committee.
The doping scandal does not implicate Russia’s synchronized swimming team, divers and the women’s water polo team, so they are still eligible to participate.
