All news

Olympic chief says current pressure on Russian sports to continue

Russia must imply maximum efforts to see athletes participate in international competitions, says the Russian Olympic Committee president

MOSCOW, September 1. /TASS/. Exerted pressure on the Russian sports with all of the doping scandals in the background will continue in the future, Alexander Zhukov, the president of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), said on Thursday.

"The ban of the Russian Paralympians [from 2016 Rio] is a major mistake made by the IPC (International Paralympic Committee)," Zhukov told journalists. "This is not the end of this story and the pressure on Russia would continue."

"We must imply maximum efforts to see our athletes participate in international competitions and for hosting such competitions," Zhukov added.

The Supreme Federal Court of Switzerland ruled on Wednesday against an appeal from Russia on the suspension of national Paralympians from the 2016 Summer Games.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that Russia would organize alternative competitive events for the barred Russian Paralympic team and the awards for Paralympians would be equal to those promised at the 2016 Rio Games.