Statement - Canadian Paralympic Committee reacts to Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling

Court upholds suspension of Russia; team ineligible to compete in Rio

OTTAWA, Aug. 23, 2016 /CNW/ - Today the Court of Arbitration for Sport announced it has dismissed an appeal by the Russian Paralympic Committee against its suspension by the International Paralympic Committee.

The suspension means that Russian athletes are not eligible to compete at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games set for Sept. 7 to 18.

Following the CAS panel's decision, the IPC will now work with International Federations to redistribute the 267 slots that had been secured by Russian athletes to compete at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

The Canadian Paralympic Committee released the following statement in response to the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling:

"This ban sends a strong message to the Paralympic community that doping has no place in sport.

We await confirmation from the IPC of any additional slot allocation.

We have a strong plan in place to ensure that any new additional athlete to Team Canada is quickly on-boarded. Team Canada's final roster will be announced Aug. 29.

We remain focused on delivering a performance-based environment for all Team Canada athletes and coaches for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games."

     - Gaétan Tardif, President, Canadian Paralympic Committee

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SOURCE Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC)

Martin Richard, Executive Director, Communications & Marketing, Canadian Paralympic Committee, Tel: [phone] x224 / Cell: 613-725-4339, Email: [email protected]; Alison Korn, Senior Manager, Media Relations and Communications, Canadian Paralympic Committee, Tel: [phone] ext. 243 / Cell: 613-298-4927, Email: [email protected]