Russian sailor Sozykin cleared to compete in Rio Olympics

World Sailing, the sport's governing body, has reversed the ruling on Russia's Pavel Sozykin, making him eligible to compete at the Rio Olympic Games.

"Based upon the new guidance provided by the IOC, it was the unanimous decision of the participating World Sailing Board Members to declare Sozykin eligible to compete in Rio 2016," it said in a statement on Wednesday.

World Sailing has communicated its decision to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Russian Olympic Committee.

The IOC provided the new guidance on Tuesday to all summer International Federations indicating that an athlete should not be considered as "implicated" if the McLaren list does not refer to a prohibited substance which would have given rise to an anti-doping rules violation, reports Xinhua.

World Sailing said last month that Sozykin had been denied eligibility for the Rio Games because of the so-called McLaren report by the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA).

--IANS

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