Russian Athletes Fully Prepared to Participate in 2016 Olympics

Russian Deputy Minister of Sports Yuri Nagornykh said that the Russian delegation at the Olympics in Rio will consist of about 450 people and he has no doubt that all athletes will be fully prepared for the Games in Rio.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Russian team will be fully ready to compete in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Russian Deputy Minister of Sports Yuri Nagornykh said on Tuesday.

"We hope that the Russian delegation at the Olympics will consist of about 450 people. We have no doubt that our athletes will be fully prepared for the Games in Rio," Nagornykh told reporters.

However, it remains unclear, whether the Russian athletic team will be allowed to compete, as in November 2015, a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Independent Commission presented a report accusing the All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF) of numerous breaches of global anti-doping regulations. It recommended that the country be banned from international athletics competitions.

Following the report, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) provisionally suspended the All-Russia Athletic Federation's membership in the association.

The Russian authorities promised to carry out a clean-up program to fulfill WADA's demands in order for Russian athletes to be allowed to participate in the 2016 Olympics.

Rio de Janeiro will host the Summer Olympic Games on August 5-21, 2016.