Update On Russian Boxing Team Competing In The Olympics
One of the biggest stories surrounding this year’s Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is the fate of the entire Russian Olympic team due to a nationwide drug scandal. At the very least, the country’s boxing team is good to go for the Summer games.
The 11 Russian boxers that qualified for the Rio Olympics have been cleared to compete in the Games by an International Olympic Committee review panel, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) recently announced.
The International Boxing Association conducted individual analysis of the 11 athletes, following the criteria set by the IOC directive of July 24, to assess their eligibility to compete in the Games, which officially start on August 5. The statement said the following:
“That process is now complete and confirmation has been received from the IOC Review Panel that the 11 Russian boxers are eligible to compete at Rio 2016.”
The two women boxers cleared are Anastassiia Beliakova (60kg class) and Iaroslava Iakushina (75kg).
The nine men cleared to compete are Vasily Egorov (49kg), Misha Aloian (52kg), Vladimir Nikitin (56kg), Adlan Abdurashidov (60kg), Vitaly Dunaytsev (64kg), Andrey Zamkovoy (69kg), Artem Chebotarev (75kg), Petr Khamukov (81kg) and Evgeny Tishchenko (91kg).
The IOC is due to make an announcement on August 4 on which other Russians athletes have been approved to compete at the Games, having informed the International Federations on August 3 of the IOC panel’s decision.
The late confirmation will enable sports such as boxing, diving and tennis to hold the scheduled draws for their competitions. Russia’s track and field team have been suspended from competing.
