Russian sailor allowed to compete in the Olympic Games

Governing body, World Sailing has reversed its decision to allow Russian sailor, Pavel Sozykin to compete in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Rio Olympic Games 2016.
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World Sailing has announced that Russian sailor, Pavel Sozykin can compete in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

He sails in the Men’s 470 Class.

The Russian sailor was originally banned from competing as a result of the findings of the McLaren report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

It found evidence of state sponsored doping amongst Russian athletes, and recommended a blanket ban for the country’s athletes for Rio.

However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided not to ban all Russian athletes from the games.

In a statement, World Sailing said that it reconsidered the case of Sozykin after receiving additional guidance from the IOC regarding the eligibility of athletes from Russia to compete in the Rio.

The IOC issued new guidance on 2 August, World Sailing said, advising an athlete should not be considered as “implicated” if the McLaren list “does not refer to a prohibited substance which would have given rise to an anti-doping rules violation.”

It said in the case of Sozykin, “though he was identified in the McLaren Report in connection with the Disappearing Positive Methodology, the report did not include specific information as to whether the positive test occurred in-competition or out-of-competition.”

“Further, the substance for which he tested positive is not prohibited out-of-competition and, if the sample had been taken out-of-competition, would not have resulted in a sanction,” continued World Sailing.

Its Board of Directors also noted that Sozykin has had “at least two subsequent anti-doping tests with no adverse results”.

World Sailing said it will closely monitor the continued investigation into the allegation regarding Sozykin in the McLaren Report.

“If it is determined that an anti-doping rule violation did in fact occur, the relevant tribunal may disqualify Mr. Sozykin from any results obtained since October 2014, when the sample in question was taken,” it added.

Sozykin’s entry for the 2016 Olympic Games must still be confirmed by the IOC and the review panel established through the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Games open on 5 July.