Russian Paralympians to Ask IPC to Remove Ban From Rio Games - Lawyer

Ten Russian Paralympic athletes will send a letter to the International Paralymic Committee (IPC) on Wednesday night requesting it to consider allowing them to participate in the upcoming Games in Rio, Artem Patsev, a sports lawyer assisting the Paralympians, told reporters.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Tuesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected the Russian Paralympic Committee’s (RPC) appeal against its ban from the upcoming Rio Olympics.

"We would like the IPC to give our Paralympians an opportunity to fulfill their rights, and to be heard," Patsev said. "Tonight we hope to make the first contact with the IPC."

Patsev noted that two more lawyers are working on other possible options in the current situation, adding that the chances of the Russian Paralympic athletes taking part in the Games are "very tiny."

"There is a very tiny chance. But even if we have a microscopic chance, we have to use it," Patsev said. "There is even a chance that the IPC will hear us, and we will not need CAS. But at the moment it's hard to say what the process will be."

On Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights said it was ready to consider the Russian Paralympians’ case should they file one.

A doping scandal, simmering since 2014, escalated in July when an independent World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) commission presented a report accusing Russia of running a state-wide doping program and urging the IOC to consider a blanket ban on the entire Russian team.

The WADA McLaren report claimed that 35 of the so-called disappeared positive test results were allegedly in Paralympic sport.