The International Olympic Committee has decided against a blanket ban on Russian athletes from participating at the Rio Olympics, which start on August 5. Individual sporting federations have been given the responsibility to adjudicate on Russian athletes taking part in their sport.

The decision was announced in a statement on Sunday.

Russian athletes will only be allowed to go participate in the Olympics only if they "provide evidence to the full satisfaction of his or her International Federation" that they have not indulged in doping offences.

The statement further added that Russia would not be able to send any athlete to to the Games if he or she had ever served a doping ban in the past.

"I think in this way, we have balanced on the one hand, the desire and need for collective responsibility versus the right to individual justice of every individual athlete," said Thomas Bach, president of the IOC to BBC.

Russian track and field athletes are already banned from the Games following an adverse report from the World Anti-Doping Agency which provided intricate details of state-sponsored doping in the country.