Olympics-IOC clears almost 80 Russian athletes to compete in Rio (Reuters)

* All 11 Russian boxers, 18 shooters among those cleared * Russia expects close to 280 athletes to compete * Russia’s track-and-field, weightlifting teams already barred (Updates with further IOC rulings) By Karolos Grohmann and Jack Stubbs RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 4 (Reuters) – Almost 80 Russian athletes from seven sports were cleared to compete at the Rio Olympics by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday, just one day before the opening ceremony. Russian boxers, tennis players, judokas and shooters were among those given the last-minute approval by an IOC panel set up to review the eligibility of all Russian athletes previously cleared to compete by their international federations.