LOS ANGELES (AFP) – A North American-led campaign to ban Russia from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics has opened up an international divide on how to deal with the doping scandal engulfing Russia.
European Olympic Committees president Pat Hickey said he was ‘‘shocked’’ by a move led by the United States and Canada to have Russia completely banned from the Summer Games, which start in Rio on August 5.
Hickey said he was alerted to the move when the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s athletes commission sent out an appeal for backing for the campaign.