Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir PutinThinkstock

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided against banning all Russian athletes from the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro.

The decision comes in the wake of a ruling of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last Thursday, which barred Russian track and field athletes from participating in the Olympic Games due to doping.

After a report was published by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) which recommended a full ban on Russian athletes due to widespread use of doping among Russian sports agencies, the IOC was under pressure to enact a full ban.

In its latest decision, the IOC did not rule out the participation of Russian athletes (with the exception of the Russian track and field team), but rather stipulated that Russian athletes must undergo additional testing by their sport's international federation. which would include a check of each athlete's anti-doping record. Additionally, any athlete who had previously been sanctioned for doping would be barred from the Olympics, even if he already served out his ban.

Russia has admitted to doping violations, but denies government involvement.