THE COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT (CAS) REJECTS THE CLAIMS/APPEAL OF THE RUSSIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (ROC)

Tribunal Arbitral du Sport

Court of Arbitration for Sport

MEDIA RELEASE

ATHLETICS – OLYMPIC GAMES RIO 2016

THE COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT (CAS) REJECTS THE

CLAIMS/APPEAL OF THE RUSSIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (ROC)

AND OF 68 RUSSIAN ATHLETES

Lausanne, 21 July 2016 – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has issued its decisions in the

arbitrations between the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), a number of Russian athletes (the

Claimant Athletes) and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The CAS has

dismissed both the request for arbitration filed by the ROC and 68 Claimant Athletes, and the appeal

filed by 67 of the same athletes against the IAAF decision to consider them as ineligible for the

Olympic Games in Rio.

On 13 November 2015, the IAAF suspended the All Russia Athletics Federation (ARAF) from IAAF

membership. Such suspension was confirmed on 26 November 2015 and again on 17 June 2016. In a

request for arbitration filed at the CAS on 3 July 2016, the ROC and the 68 Claimant Athletes asked

the CAS 1) to review specific legal issues, limited to the validity, enforceability and scope of IAAF

Competition Rules 22.1(a) and 22.1A, and 2) to order that any Russian athlete who was not currently

the subject of any period of ineligibility for the commission of an anti-doping rule violation be declared

eligible to participate at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio (subject to meeting the qualification standards

for his or her event).

On 15 July 2016, 67 Russian athletes filed an appeal against the IAAF decisions to deny applications

from these athletes to compete internationally as "neutral athletes" at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

The arbitrations were referred to a Panel of CAS arbitrators: Prof. Luigi Fumagalli, Italy (President),

Mr Jeffrey G. Benz, United States and His Honour James Robert Reid QC, United Kingdom. The

Panel held a hearing with the parties on 19 July 2016.

The CAS Panel has confirmed the validity of the IAAF’s decision to apply Rules 22.1(a) and 22.1A

of the IAAF Competition Rules, which state that athletes whose national federation is suspended by

the IAAF are ineligible for competitions held under the IAAF Rules, in accordance with the Olympic