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The Entire Russian Paralympic Team Banned From Rio Due To Doping Scandal

Russia’s Aleksey Chuvashev who competed in the rowing competition, checks his prosthesis after it was fixed by a technician at Ottobock Technical Service at the Paralympics Village, Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012, in London. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/EMILLIO MORENATTI, THINKPROGRESS/DYLAN PETROHILOS
Russia’s Aleksey Chuvashev who competed in the rowing competition, checks his prosthesis after it was fixed by a technician at Ottobock Technical Service at the Paralympics Village, Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012, in London. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/EMILLIO MORENATTI, THINKPROGRESS/DYLAN PETROHILOS

This is a part of ThinkProgress’s #Rio2016 coverage. To read other articles about the 2016 Games, click here.

On Sunday, the International Paralympic Committee announced that Russia will be banned from participating in the Paralympic Games, which will run from September 7–18 in Rio.

This is a step that the International Olympic Committee controversially failed to take a couple of weeks ago, when it announced that it would be up to individual sports federations Russian athletes will be able to play in Rio.

Last month, Richard McLaren authored a report for the World Ant-Doping Agency confirming that Russia had facilitated a widespread, systematic doping scheme before and after the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014. According to the McClaren report, between 2011 and 2015, the Russian Ministry of Sport erased at least 312 positive doping tests.

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Russia won the medal count at the Sochi Olympics and Paralympics. In the 2014 Paralympics, Russia won 80 out of 216 medals. Craven announced that the IPC plans to retest every sample provided by a Russian Paralympic athlete during the Sochi Games.

WADA Calls For Russian Ban From Rio Olympics After Report Confirms ‘Unprecedented’ Doping SchemeOn Monday, the World Anti-Doping Agency released the much anticipated report on its investigation…thinkprogress.org“The McLaren report marked one of the darkest days in the history of all sport,” IPC president Sir Philip Craven said on Sunday. “The actions were a body blow to clean, fair, honest sport. The Russia state-run program of cheating questioned the integrity and credibility of sport as we know it.”

There are estimated to be approximately 175 countries competing in 526 events at the Paralympics in Rio, the international sporting competition for physically disabled athletes. In London 2012, 4,302 participated.

But a total of 267 Russian paralympians will now miss their chance to compete for a medal next month after the McClaren report found concrete evidence that there had been doping at the Sochi Paralympics.

“It shows a blatant disregard for the health and wellbeing of athletes and, quite simply, has no place in Paralympic sport. Their thirst for glory at all costs has severely damaged the integrity and image of all sport, and has certainly resulted in a devastating outcome for the Russian Paralympic Committee and Para-athletes.”

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The firm decision by the IPC puts the IOC’s decision to allow Russian athletes to compete in the Olympics look even more suspect. Overall, 118 Russians were banned from the Olympics, while another 271 are still competing.