Full coverage: 2016 Rio Olympics
Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Russian athletes were victims of discrimination. The International Olympic Committee decided on Sunday not to ban the whole Russian Olympic team from the Rio Olympics. However, Russian track and field athletes have already been banned from the Games. Addressing athletes at the Kremlin before the Russian team leaves for Rio de Janeiro on Thursday, Putin says those barred from competing are victims of "double standards" and a campaign against Russian sports.
"Short-sighted pseudo-politicians can't leave sports alone. The situation we have today has gone beyond law regulations and common sense. We can't accept indiscriminate disqualification of our athletes with an absolutely clean doping history. We can't and will not accept what in fact is pure discrimination," Putin said.