Russians lose track appeal; IOC to weigh total ban for Rio

LONDON (AP) — Now that Russian track and field athletes have failed in their effort to have their Olympic ban overturned, it's up to the IOC to decide whether to kick the entire Russian team out of the games that begin in Rio de Janeiro in 15 days.

In another blow to the image of the sports superpower, the highest court in sports on Thursday dismissed an appeal by 68 Russian track athletes of the ban imposed by the IAAF following allegations of systematic and state-sponsored doping.

In its ruling, the Court of Arbitration for Sport found that track and field's world governing body, the IAAF, had properly applied its own rules in keeping the Russians out of the games that begin Aug. 5.

The three-man panel ruled that the Russian Olympic Committee "is not entitled to nominate Russian track and field athletes to compete at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games considering that they are not eligible to participate under the IAAF competition rules."

While the ruling clears the way for other individual sports federations to apply similar bans on Russians, it also increases pressure on the IOC to take the unprecedented step of excluding the whole Russian team.

The World Anti-Doping Agency, along with many national anti-doping bodies and athletes groups, have called on the IOC to impose a total ban on Russia following fresh allegations of state-orchestrated cheating across dozens of Olympic sports.

Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren, who was commissioned by WADA, issued a scathing report Monday that accused Russia's Sports Ministry of orchestrating a doping system that affected 28 summer and winter Olympic sports.

A group of 14 national anti-doping agencies sent a letter to IOC President Thomas Bach urging a complete ban "to uphold the Olympic Charter and the integrity of the Rio Olympic Games."

Isinbayeva, the pole vault world record holder who is the face and voice of Russian track and field, told the state news agency Tass tha