(ATR) Sports minister Vitaly Muto says 67 Russian athletes have filed appeals against the IAAF ban from the Rio Olympics.
Mutko said on Saturday that the group of athletes will submit applications to the IAAF and are ready, if necessary, to launch legal appeals at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The IOC last week upheld the IAAF’s November ban on Russian athletics team competing in Rio following allegations of state-sponsored doping. But it opened the door for some athletes to be granted "exceptional eligibility" for international competitions.
Athletes must comply with the 11 criteria published last Thursday by the IAAF, which include passing extra drug tests. The IAAF Doping Review Board will use these to determine the eligibility of athletes. Only a handful – those based abroad who have trained outside Russia’s tainted anti-doping regime – seem likely to stand any chance of reaching Rio.
Double Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva and doping whistleblower 800-metre runner Yulia Stepanova are among those thought to be in the group of 67.
Mutko said he will consider resigning as sports minister if Russia's athletics team is banned from Rio 2016.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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