At least 119 Russian athletes have been banned from the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, as of the most recent update Monday night. That tally includes the country's entire weightlifting team, all but one member of the track and field team, and some athletes in other sports as well. Members of the boxing team still await their fates, which will be delivered on a case-by-case basis.
At least 20 of the banned athletes are seeking reinstatement, and their fates will be decided no later than Friday by a three-person panel from the International Olympic Committee. The other sports affected include swimming, canoeing, cycling, modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing and wrestling. The only track and field athlete who will be allowed to compete is Darya Klishina, a long jumper who was able to prove she has been adequately tested separately from Russia's corrupt system.
The bans stem from Russia's ongoing, high-profile doping scandal. A report by the World Anti-Doping Agency detailed the state-run PED program, which affected the 2014 Sochi Olympics in addition to many other international competitions over the span of several years. The discipline for the Rio games started with 68 athletes, but in July there were whispers it might extend to cover the entire Russian contingent, around 400 total athletes. The IOC stopped short of that full national ban, partly for logistical reasons with the event only weeks away, but Russian athletes will be held to tighter testing standards and won't receive any benefit of the doubt.
Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the bans, calling them a "deliberate campaign targeting our athletes" and claiming that "[t]he other sportsmen understand that the quality of their medals will be different."
