CAS upholds Russian Paralympic ban

Russia will not compete at next month’s Paralympics in Rio after losing an appeal against its blanket ban.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) ban on all Russian athletes.

CAS ruled that the ban “was proportionate in the circumstances”.

It added that the Russian Paralympic Committee did not file any evidence contradicting the facts put forward by the IPC.

The IPC’s decision is in contrast to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which chose not to hand Russia a blanket ban from the Olympic Games.

The IOC was widely criticised for ignoring the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) recommendation to ban Russia.

Russia’s Paralympic team’s lawyer, Alexei Karpenko, confirmed the decision was final, saying they would try to file an appeal with the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, but it would take between one and two years for the court to consider the case.

“So I’m afraid Russian Paralympians will not be going to the Games in any case,” Karpenko added.