At the London Olympics, Russia finished second to the U.S. in the track and field medal standings.
With Russia unable to send a track and field team to Rio, top rivals to U.S. Olympic medal hopefuls may be absent from the Games in August.
The IAAF left “a very tiny crack in the door” for Russian athletes to apply to compete in Rio independently, should they prove to have been subjected to reliable drug testing outside of the Russian regime.
Until then, these 10 Americans’ medal hopes were boosted with Friday’s announcement:
Jenn Suhr, Pole Vault
Russia’s biggest track and field star is 2004 and 2008 Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva.