Although the IOC said in July that Russia should not host any international winter sports events due to their systematic doping violations and cheating at the 2014 Olympics, it apparently walked those guidelines back -- and now Russia has been awarded biathlon World Championships, despite the fact that the country is not currently in compliance with the WADA Code.
The IOC Executive Board ruled Sunday against a blanket ban on Russian athletes entering the Olympics following the biggest doping scandal in decades. More than the conclusion itself, the guidelines are confusing and unclear -- not to mention unfair to Russian athletes and to clean athletes around the world.
On Tuesday, the IOC Executive Board responded to the McLaren report and listed provisional measures for international sports federations moving forward. Fortunately for FIS and the IBU, they're not on the same timeline as summer sports, and will convene at a meeting in just over two weeks in Rio.
After the Norwegian women's ski team wore black armbands in honor of Astrid Jacobsen's deceased brother, the IOC issued them a reprimand - which seemed, and was, tone-deaf. The organization is now building a specific mourning place in future Olympic Villages to be more friendly to grieving athletes.