The Russian sports minister, Vitaly Mutko, said “up to 67 athletes” had applied to the International Association of Athletics Federations, track and field’s world governing body, for exemption from the ban on the Russian team at the Rio Olympics.
The I.A.A.F. last week upheld its overall ban on the Russian team — imposed in November over widespread doping — but allowed an exemption for athletes who can show they were reliably drug tested outside their home country.
Those who appear to fit the I.A.A.F.’s criteria include the 800-meter runner Yulia Stepanova, who fled Russia after testifying on doping matters, and the long jumper Darya Klishina, who is based in the United States.