Russia’s entire team for the 2016 Paralympics in Rio have just been banned from taking part after the country’s doping scandal.
No Russian athletes will be allowed to compete at the Paralympics in September after The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) confirmed the news, The BBC reported.
IPC president Sir Philip Craven said doping was a “great great threat to world sport” as he banned the team in what one journalist called a “big moment for Paralympic sport”.
He was praised for taking action after The International Olympics Committee (IOC) was slammed for ignoring a recommendation from World Anti-Doping Agency to ban Russia from the Rio Olympic Games.
Craven said on Sunday: “The anti-doping system in Russia is broken, corrupted and entirely compromised.
“The Russian Paralympic Committee are unable to ensure compliance with and enforcement of the IPC anti-doping code and the world anti-doping code within their own national jurisdiction and they can not fulfil its fundamental obligation as an IPC member.
“As a result, the Russian Paralympic Committee is suspended with immediate effect.”
Travis T. Tygart, the head of the US Atni-Doping Agency, praised the decision as “inspiring”.
Russia won Russia winning 30 out of the 72 golds at the Sochi Winter Paralympics in 2014.
It is claimed the country operated a state-sponsored doping programme, according to a report which found the four year scheme covered the “vast majority” of summer and winter Olympic sports from 2011 until 2015.
The Russian Paralympic Committee will reportedly appeal the decision, The BBC said. It has 21 days to do so.
Craven said a Russian delegation visited him last week to make their case.
After a review by the federations for each sport, and an IOC panel, on whether Russian athletes could take part in the Olympics, 271 were cleared to compete.