Russian Athletes Can Submit Up to 165 Bids to Compete Internationally

Russian athletes may submit up to 165 applications to International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) to receive permission to participate in international competitions, a member of IAAF Women's committee and Russian lawmaker Tatiana Lebedeva said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, IAAF said it had received a total of more than 80 requests from Russian athletes seeking to compete internationally "in an individual capacity."

"Russian national team was formed during the championship of Russia in Cheboksary. It was necessary to fulfill the specification and other criteria of ARAF [All-Russia Athletic Federation] and the IAAF, for the athlete, in particular, has not been abusing doping. There are 80 applications but this is not the limit, there will possibly be up to 165 applications," Lebedeva told journalists.

On June 20, the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) upheld the suspension of the International Association of Athletics Federation's (ARAF) membership, virtually banning Russian athletes from the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) is about to file a lawsuit with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to restore Russian athletes’ right to compete in the Olympics.