Two-time Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva has made her case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport that Russian track and field athletes not banned for doping be allowed to compete at the Rio de Janeiro Games.
Leaving a CAS appeal hearing held amid unusual secrecy in Geneva, Isinbayeva told state-owned news channel Russia 24 that she addressed the judging panel and was “optimistic” about the outcome.
CAS aims to give a verdict on Thursday in the appeal filed by Russia’s national Olympic body on behalf of 68 athletes.
The ruling will guide the IOC executive board as it weighs whether to ban all Russian teams from the Rio Olympics.
The Russian appeal challenges an IAAF ruling to suspend the All-Russian Athletic Federation and its athletes from international competition because of a state-backed conspiracy of doping and cover-ups.
The IAAF imposed the ban last November and upheld it last month.
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