Russian Judo Athletes Will Compete in Rio

The International Olympic Committee left it up to the world governing bodies of each sport to decide if Russian teams can go to Rio in light of doping allegations, and The International Judo Federation has ruled that Russian competitors will be allowed to to participate.

Russian president Vladimir Putin is a judo black belt and frequently shown on television practicing the sport. In addition to Putin has an honorary role at the federation as honorary president. The federation’s full-time president Marius Vizer said that Putin’s role played any part in the decision.

In a telephone interview with Reuters about the 11 Russian judo competitors  who have qualified for the Olympics, Vizer said: "They will go to Rio. All those athletes have been tested starting from September last year until the end of May, on many occasions, at many international judo events, not in Russia, abroad from Russia. There was no punishment, no negative evidence, we don’t take into consideration any analysis or tests made in Russia, because for us it is not relevant."