Russians lose appeal against Paralympics ban

ZURICH: Russians have lost an appeal against their ban from next month’s Rio Paralympics because of a state-sponsored doping programme, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), sports highest tribunal, said on Tuesday.

The decision to exclude Russia’s entire Paralympics team, initially made on August 7 by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), means at least 250 Russian competitors are set to miss the September 7-18 event.

CAS said its panel found the IPC “did not violate any procedural rule in dealing with the disciplinary process” which led to Russia’s suspension from the event.

It added that the ruling was “proportionate in the circumstances” and that the Russian Paralympic Committee “did not file any evidence contradicting the facts on which the IPC decision was based”.

Russia has said that the IPC’s decision is politically motivated and will punish dozens of innocent athletes.