3 Brazilian athletes win appeal to compete at Paris Olympics in track and field

PARIS (AP) — Three Brazilian track and field athletes won a court ruling Friday allowing them to compete at the Paris Olympics despite the South American country’s substandard anti-doping program.

Shot putter Livia Avancini, race walker Max Batista and sprinter Hygor Bezerra had been blocked by the Athletics Integrity Unit for not meeting a stricter level of “no-notice” doping controls demanded ahead of the Paris Games.

The three athletes appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, whose special Olympic court in Paris upheld their legal challenges in a fast-track ruling.

The CAS panel of three judges decided the athletes met the “truly exceptional circumstances” exemption allowed for in World Athletics rules.

Brazil was among four countries put on special measures by the AIU in March. Ecuador, Peru and Portugal are the others.

The AIU advised that non-elite athletes from the four countries could compete in Paris only if they gave at least three no-notice samples in training in the 10 months to July.

The Monaco-based investigators said that policy would protect the Olympics “from athletes who emerge quickly through the rankings or produce surprise performances, or where the depth of talent means results are unpredictable.”

Track and field events at the Paris Olympics start next Thursday.

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