Rio: Russian team booed in opening ceremony

RIO DE JANEIRO — As the Russians entered Maracana Stadium, the reaction was mixed at best.

The country’s team of 271 athletes comes into these Rio Olympics under a cloud after revelations of state-sponsored doping and the subversion of the anti-doping regulations up to the highest level of sport in the country created a crisis in the leadup to the Games.

As the team appeared on the screens here in the opening ceremony’s Parade of Nations, a low murmur of boos echoed in the stadium. As the Russian team was announced over the PA system, muted cheers came from the crowd of approximately 60,000.

That the Russians are competing here has angered many who felt the country should have been banned. After a second report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency revealed last month that everyone from the Ministry of Sport to the Federal Security Service was involved a system to cover up positive doping tests.

It didn’t, deciding instead to let the international federations that govern each sport decide on the eligibility of individual athletes. The IOC announced Thursday that 271 of the 389 put forth by the Russian Olympic Committee — or approximately 70 percent — were approved to compete.

For all the Russians in Rio on Friday, some were missing — and not just the athletes. In response to the most recent report, the IOC barred any officials from the sports ministry from being accredited for the Games.

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