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Olympics Chief Shuns Comparison With Paralympics On Russian Doping


International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach rejected comparisons of his group, which decided against barring Russia from the Rio Olympics over doping, to the Paralympics governing body that imposed a total ban.

The International Paralympic Committee only had to ban one federation -- the Paralympic Committee of Russia -- while the IOC had to decide the fate of competitors from 28 different international sports, Bach said.

"It is a different situation and therefore a different decision," Bach said on August 8. "The IPC has just only one member federation in Russia."

The Paralympics body made headlines on August 7 when it banned Russia from the Rio games due to start next month. Its leader, Philip Craven, voiced disgust at the state-orchestrated doping uncovered by the World Anti-Doping Agency in July.

Bach noted that the IOC supported decisions by two federations -- the International Weightlifting Federation and the International Federation of Athletics Associations -- to impose blanket bans on Russian athletes.

But he stressed it would not have been "justice" to ban all Russian athletes -- clean ones as well as those who used drugs.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP

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