Russian Paralympic Committee hearing on Rio 2016 ban put back by 24 hours, IPC confirms

Vladimir Lukin, president of the Russian Paralympic Committee, attends a news conference after Russia was barred on August 7, 2016 from taking part in next month's Rio Paralympics, in Moscow, Russia, August 8, 2016. [Photo/VCG]

RIO DE JANEIRO - The Russian Paralympic Committee's (RPC) appeal against their ban from Rio 2016 will be heard on Monday (August 22), 24 hours later than originally planned, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced on Friday.

The RPC officially launched its appeal last week to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), whose ad-hoc Division will deliberate over the case in the Brazilian city.

A verdict was due to be revealed on Monday but the decision will now be published a day after on Tuesday (August 23), two days after the Closing Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

"The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has scheduled the appeal for Monday and a final decision will be announced by the CAS by noon CEST on Tuesday, 23 August," the IPC confirmed in a statement.

The IPC decided to impose a blanket ban on Russia on August 7 following the release of the McLaren Report, which alleged the presence of a state-sponsored doping scheme in the country.

The Canadian lawyer revealed what he described as the "disappearing positive methodology" - where positive samples were switched for clean ones - in the explosive report.

A total of 35 "disappearing positives" were found in Paralympic sport, according to the report, although only 21 of these were within the IPC remit.

Since then, another 10 such cases have been brought to the attention of the IPC.

Russia was always likely to contest the decision of the IPC, which has been criticized in the country and by various organizations and International Federations, including the Association of National Olympic Committees and World Archery among others.

The Rio 2016 Paralympics will run from September 7 to 18.