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Chiller backs IOC decision not to ban Russia

Jared Tallent was recently awarded gold from London 2012 after Russian Sergey Kirdyapkin was revealed as a drug cheat earlier this year (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
24th July, 2016
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Australian Olympic team boss Kitty Chiller has backed the International Olympic Committee’s decision not to place a blanket ban on Russian athletes competing at the Rio Games.

Instead, the chef de mission said Australia’s athletes had to move on and accept that any Russian competitors are clean heading into next month’s Olympics.

“It’s tough criteria and it’s good criteria as far as we’re concerned,” Miller told ABC News on Monday.

“They still have a lot of high hurdles to jump over in order to be able to compete in Rio, it’s not going to be an easy path for them.”

After a three-hour teleconference in Lausanne, the executive board passed the baton to individual sports’ governing bodies to decide if Russian competitors are clean and should be allowed to take part in next month’s Games.

The decision came despite last week’s damning World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report revealing systematic, state-backed drug cheating from 2011-15.

Any athletes who were involved in that report, have a past anti-doping sanction or are part of Russia’s track and field team will still not be able to compete.

And while Chiller said she was yet to speak with any Australian athletes as they are yet to enter the Olympic village, she insisted the decision had to be accepted.

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“The Russian athletes who are here will have proved their innocence, it’s out of our hands now, we need to accept the decision, move on and focus on our own performances,” she said.

“I just want our athletes to stay focused, urging them to concentrate on their own performance, wipe Russia from their mind.”

Chiller may have a hard time convincing Australian race walker Jared Tallent though.

The 31-year-old, who was robbed of his rightful London 2012 gold medal by Russian drug cheat Sergey Kirdyapkin before being retrospectively elevated, was one of numerous high-profile signatories to a letter pleading with the IOC to exclude Russia.

He also retweeted a post from Former Australian Sports Anti-doping Authority boss Richard Ings in the wake of the decision, protesting the result.

“Are you a doper who has served your ban? Are you Russian? Not welcome. Are you non-Russian? Welcome,” it read.

Meanwhile, Ings seemed livid at the IOC’s decision to ban Russian whistleblower Yuliya Stepanova from competing at the Rio Olympics.

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Stepanova was banned from the Games based on a history of anti-doping issues, however was pushing for the opportunity to compete as a neutral athlete due to the 800m runner’s “contribution to the protection and promotion of clean athletes” via her groundbreaking allegations in the report.

“How can IOC ban RUS athletes who have already served ADRV bans but allow athletes from other nations who have already served ADRV bans?” Ings wrote.

“It does appear that Ms Stepanova has been thrown under the bus of IOC political expedience. That is incredibly obtuse.”

Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates was at Sunday’s meeting as an IOC vice-president, however he is yet to comment.

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