Rio devalued without Russians – Putin
Written by Morenike Adebayo on July 28, 2016
Russian President Vladimir Putin says medals won at Rio 2016 will be devalued by the banning of Russian competitors. There have been one hundred and eight Russians banned from next month’s Olympics so far, including sixty-seven out of sixty-eight from the athletics team. Putin said there was a “deliberate campaign targeting Russian athletes”.
Putin, who said the Games will be “less of a spectacle” as a result of the bans, said the campaign was characterized by so-called double standards, which is not compatible with sport, justice in general, or the basic norms of law. Russia’s fencing, volleyball, triathlon and table tennis squads are the latest to have been cleared to compete at the Rio Games, which begin on the fifth of August, 2016.
