Rio ban for entire Russian Olympic team would be crime against sport, says artistic gymnastics team coach

Record ID: 94192

  • Title: Rio ban for entire Russian Olympic team would be crime against sport, says artistic gymnastics team coach
  • Date: 21st July 2016
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS TEAM COACH, VALENTINA RODIONENKO, SAYING: "We don't understand how the decision (on a possible ban for the entire Russian Olympic team) will be made and what kind of decision it will be. (REPORTER ASKING OFF CAMERA: Do you consider it a crime?). Yes, it is a crime. It is a crime against sport." GYMNAST JUMPING LETTERS READING IN RUSSIAN 'RUSSIA'S SPORTS MINISTRY, OZERO KRUGLOYE TRAINING BASE'
  • Embargoed: 5th August 2016 13:40
  • Keywords: Russia Olympics Valentina Rodionenko artistic gymnastics Rio
  • Location: NEAR MOSCOW, RUSSIA
  • City: NEAR MOSCOW, RUSSIA
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: Gymnastics,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA0024RMQVK7
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: If the entire Russian Olympic team is banned from the Rio Games, this would be a crime against sport, the coach of their national artistic gymnastics team Valentina Rodionenko said on Thursday (July 21).
    Sport's highest tribunal on Thursday rejected Russia's appeal against a doping ban for its entire athletics team from the Rio Olympics starting in 15 days' time, drawing swift and angry condemnation from Moscow.
    The decision by the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) increases the possibility that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will now exclude Russia from all sports, not just track and field, in Rio de Janeiro.
    "We are not panicking, everyone is preparing, everyone is in the mood, everyone believes and will believe till the very end. We are told the decision will be announced on the 24th (of July). But the thing is that we depart for Rio on the 24th in the morning. Maybe this will catch us on the road, I don't know. However we don't believe (that it will happen)," Rodionenko said.
    Russia had argued it had taken steps to clean up the sport, and that the blanket ban was unfair to individual athletes with no record of doping.
    "Every competition is a certain progress in any sport discipline. And it will be very sad if this (ban for entire Russian Olympic team) happens. We still cannot believe that this can take place. I'd say it would be a tragedy for gymnasts of certain age who devoted much of their time to this," Rodionenko said.
    The ball is now in the court of the IOC to decide whether Russia should be excluded from all sports at the Rio Games, starting on Aug. 5. The Committee is expected to reach a final decision on Sunday (July 24).
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