Russian sports minister apologizes over doping, pleads for Rio entry: Sunday Times (Reuters)

Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has issued a plea for Russia’s athletes to be allowed to compete in the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games and apologized for the “deceptive” sportsmen caught doping in the past in an article he wrote for Britain’s Sunday Times. With less than three months before the Rio Games open in August, Moscow is seeking to have a global ban overturned to allow its track and field athletes to compete. The All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF) was suspended from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) after several high-profile Russian athletes were caught red-handed in using banned performance-enhanced substances.