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Official: Russia's Paralympians banned from competing in Rio

The International Paralympic Committee [IPC] has confirmed a blanket ban on Russians competing at next month's Games following a recommendation from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to ban Russia’s Paralympics team from the event.

LIVE UPDATES: Russian Paralympic team’s ban from Rio Games

The decision was announced at the press conference in Rio de Janeiro, where Olympic games are currently taking place.

 

The ruling comes despite the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) refusal to implement a total ban on Russian athletes for the 2016 Rio Games.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had asked the IOC to ban Russia after the release of the Canadian Lawyer Richard McLaren’s report, but each individual sporting federation was given the power to decide if Russian athletes could compete.

Nearly 300 athletes were given the green light to take part, while some competitors are still making last ditch attempts through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to have their suspensions overturned.

Commissioned by WADA, McLaren's report centered on accusations made in the New York Times by the former head of Russia's national anti-doping laboratory, Grigory Rodchenkov.

Rodchenkov, who is facing criminal charges in Russia, and now lives in United States, alleged he doped dozens of athletes in the run-up to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi with the help of the Russian government.

The IPC initially opened provisional suspension proceedings against Russia's Paralympic committee in July, after McLaren's report claimed there were a total of 35 "disappeared tests" in disability sports over a four-year period.

After further consultation with McLaren, the IPC board has decided to impose a suspension that will remain in force during the Paralympics.

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