Australia criticises IOC's decision to rule out blanket ban on Russian athletes

Australia's government has questioned the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) leadership in the fight against doping in sport and said Russia's participation at the Rio 2016 Games risks damaging the reputation of the Olympic movement.

The IOC ruled out a total ban on Russian athletes competing in next month's Games over its doping record, giving the responsibility to international sports federations to decide whether individual athletes should be allowed to participate.

The decision was endorsed by some national Olympic committees, but drew criticism from athletes and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which said the ruling would "inevitably lead to ... lesser protection for clean athletes."

Australian sports minister Sussan Ley, a member of the WADA executive committee, said evidence of state-sponsored doping in Russia "cannot be ignored".

"The fight against doping in sport requires strong international leadership, none more so in this case, where the integrity of an entire Olympic and Paralympic Games is at stake," Ms Ley said.

"The Australian government continues to strongly support WADA's recommendations that the IOC, International Paralympic Committee and International Sporting Federations each take definitive action within their respective powers to decline entries of all athletes submitted by the Russian Olympic and Paralympic Committees."

International Olympic Commitee President Thomas Bach (R) and IOC Vice President John Coates (L). Credit: Reuters

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), whose president John Coates is also an IOC vice-president, backed the IOC's decision.

The ruling was also supported by New Zealand's Olympic committee, which said the international body had taken the "strongest possible measures".

However, Graeme Steel, chief executive of the country's national anti-doping agency Drug Free Sport New Zealand, was scathing in his assessment of the IOC's position.

"The decision of the IOC to not take matters into their own hands but pass on the hot potato to International Federations shows a lack of will to back the core principles of their organisation with hard decisions," he said.

"Many international federations will have neither the time nor capacity to make the quick and clear decisions necessary let alone do it in a consistent way," Mr Steel added.

International sports federations have less than two weeks to decide whether to allow Russian athletes to compete at the Games, which take place between August 5-21.