CHEBOKSARY (Sputnik) — Earlier on Tuesday, the Olympic Summit approved the decision to uphold the disqualification. However, the Russian athletes who are cleared by the IAAF were allowed to compete in the 2016 Olympics under the national flag.
"This approach is related to the protection of the 'clean' athletes' interests… Obviously, it has to be clarified, as it is a very important procedure. How [can this admission be carried out] and what kind of admission can it be? I am truly happy with the statement that if an athlete is a citizen of a country they may perform under a national flag," Butov told journalists.
"No doubts, that [our] country has its representation, everybody knows it. Elena [Isinbayeva] is well-known by the Russians and worldwide. And whether she has 'Russia' written on her uniform or not, it doesn't matter in terms of popularity of this great athlete," Butov said.
He noted that the ARAF would send requests to the IAAF asking to explain in details the procedure of the admission of Russia's athletes to the Olympic Games.
