IOC 'unlikely' to overturn ban on Russia's track and field team at Rio

The International Olympic Committee is unlikely to overturn world athletics' ban on the Russian track and field team at the Rio de Janeiro Games, IOC Vice-President John Coates has said.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on Friday unanimously upheld its ban on Russian athletes competing at international competitions due to state-sponsored doping.

Coates said he would be "very, very surprised" if the IOC overturn the ban at a summit on Tuesday in Lausanne.

"It's an international federation's right to suspend a national federation and I don't think we would overturn that at all," Coates told reporters in Melbourne.

Russian athletes will not be able to compete at the Rio Olympics under the Russian flag. Credit: Daniel Karmann/dpa