‘Russian athletes pass 300 doping tests during Rio Olympics’

Rio de Janeiro, Aug 13 (IANS) The Russian national team has so far passed 300 doping tests during the ongoing Rio Olympics, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has said.

In July, an independent World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) commission led by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren presented a report based on its investigations, in which Russia was accused of running a statewide doping programme. It urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to consider a blanket ban on the entire Russian team, reports Sputnik.

"Just now I was told that 300 samples from our athletes have already been taken (during the doping tests at Rio Olympics)... But still we manage to perform successfully despite these obstacles," Mutko told reporters on Friday.

On July 24, IOC decided against imposing a blanket ban on all Russian athletes.