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Court Rules Belarusian Canoe Team Wrongly Banned From Rio Olympics


Kayakers at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro
Kayakers at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the Belarusian men's canoe and kayak team was wrongly banned from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on doping charges.

The court on January 23 overturned a one-year ban imposed on the team in July 2016 by the International Canoe Federation, enabling them to compete once again in all international events.

There was "insufficient evidence to uphold several of the alleged anti-doping rule violations," the court said.

Five out of 17 Belarusian team members tested positive for meldonium after a police raid on their training camp in France in April 2016.

French police "confiscated various substances, medication, material, and medical equipment," CAS said, but "there was no justification" for the ban as multiple doping violations were not proved.

The court said it would publish detailed reasons behind its ruling at a later date.

Belarus won two silver medals at the 2012 London Olympics in men's canoe sprint.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters

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