IOC defend right to include Russia, but how will that decision affect image of Olympics?

The IOC opted not to ban all Russian athletes from the Rio Olympics after revelations of a wide state-backed doping programme across many sports.

Instead it chose a set of criteria for athletes to meet, including a clean doping past and sufficient testing at international events, that so far has allowed more than 250 out of the original 387 Russian athletes to be cleared for Rio.

Bach, speaking at the IOC session in the Brazilian city, said preventing clean athletes from competing and treating them as "collateral damage" would have been wrong.

"This blanket ban of the Russian Olympic Committee has been called by some the 'nuclear option' and the innocent athletes would have to be considered as collateral damage," Bach said.

"Leaving aside that such a comparison is completely out of any proportion when it comes to the rules of sport. Let us just for a moment consider the consequences of a 'nuclear option'. The result is death and devastation...

"The cynical 'collateral damage approach' is not what the Olympic Movement stands for."

Several anti-doping bodies, including the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), as well as those from the United States, Canada and Germany, among others, had called on the IOC to implement a blanket ban on all Russian athletes.

They expressed disappointment following the IOC's decision to allow some Russians to compete and accused the Games' ruling body of lacking the leadership and courage to punish Russia.

"What is not acceptable is the insinuation of some proponents of the blanket ban that those who do not share their opinions are not fighting against doping," Bach said.

"On behalf of all these supporters I reject this insinuation in the strongest terms. We may disagree how we get there but we all work toward the same goal of protecting clean athletes.

"Despite these discrepancies we agree we must not allow such a situation to happen again," he added.

Russia's Olympic Committee chief Alexander Zhukov said he considered the IOC decision to be "very fair" given what he said was the pressure from several countries to ban his nation.

"We are witnessing the enormous pressure put on the IOC by governments and political circles of certain countries," Zhukov said, without naming them. "We are witnessing direct interference of politics in sport."

He said it would be tragic if any of the 250-plus Russians awaiting a final green light from the IOC after being cleared to compete by the international federations, were now sent home.

"If Russian athletes already in Rio ... are forced to leave then that will be a real tragedy. It will be ruined fates and broken lives of athletes."

Bach received the backing of the IOC members at the session in Rio for the executive board's decision that was taken last month.

Eighty-four members supported the decision not to impose a blanket ban with only one -- Britain's Adam Pengilly -- voting against.

Not even Dick Pound of Canada, an outspoken critic of the decision not to implement a full ban, opposed Bach and the executive board on Tuesday.

"The arrow has left the bow," Pound said, adding that it made little sense to oppose a decision that had already been taken.

"It (discussion) was not bad. It was the first time we had a chance to do this. There is some disconnect and we will have to bridge that gap but it is doable," Pound said.

Bach also rejected allegations the IOC was not determined to fight doping, saying the anti-doping system needed complete restructuring.

"Engagement and not isolation is the key to build a more robust anti-doping system," he said.

It is difficult to escape the conclusion that the Olympic Games has been badly tarnished, if not irrevocably damaged, by the scandal engulfing Russia prior to these Games. It is unlikely to escape such a conclusion whenever a Russian flag comes into view. The main problem being is that there will be suspicions around all Russian competitors, no matter how unfair that may seem to clean competitors. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last month rejected Russia's appeal against a ban for its athletics team from Rio.

A ban on the Russian track-and-field team going to the Games was imposed last November by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) after an independent report uncovered state-sponsored doping in Russian athletics. The IOC have decided to try to find a way out, some will say it is a cop out, by allowing each sport to reach their own conclusion on a case-by-case basis, but that has failed to deal with the main problem of widespread Russian cheating.

A blanket ban would have been sending out the severest message that doping will not be tolerated yet the IOC have probably concluded that the political fall-out is not worth it, but have merely shown themselves to lack authority when hard evidence was placed in front of them. Even though some Russian athletes will be present in Rio, they are tainted by the association of their state, making a mockery of the ideal that the Games in Rio are only about the Corinthian spirit. Whatever happens now, the Olympic brand is likely to be the biggest loser.