The New Zealand Olympic Committee has confirmed its support for the IOC's decision not accept the entry of any Russian athlete to the Rio Olympic Games, unless they can prove without doubt to be clean.
This decision, which was announced after a meeting of the Executive Board overnight, sets a very high bar for Russian athletes to compete at Rio.
Athletes must prove to their IF that they meet the WADA code and strict criteria apply, including testing having been conducted outside of the Russian system. The IF decision to allow an individual Russian athlete to compete at Rio must be upheld by a CAS-approved expert arbitrator..
The impact of the Russian state-sanctioned doping programme has been widespread and shocking and the IOC has taken the strongest possible measures.
The complexities of the matter cannot be understated and the New Zealand Olympic Committee is satisfied the IOC has considered the issues with the utmost care, balancing individual justice with collective responsibility.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee underscores the importance of protecting clean athletes and upholding integrity in sport.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee will now work with New Zealand sports and their International Federations to assess any impact on events at the Rio Olympic Games.
Any reallocation of quota spots or changes in competition formats will be notified to the New Zealand Olympic Committee by International Federations.
The IOC decision had addressed the findings of the WADA-commissioned McLaren report released on 18 July and also took into account last week's pivotal ruling by CAS to uphold the IAAF decision to ban Russian track and field athletes from Rio 2016.
The Olympic Games opening ceremony takes place on 5 August.
The IOC Statement is available at https://www.olympic.org/news/decision-of-the-ioc-executive-board-concerning-the-participation-of-russian-athletes-in-the-olympic-games-rio-2016
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