Back to the Olympics Newsfeed

The Latest: Russia says 272 athletes approved for Rio

MOSCOW (AP) — The Latest on the Rio Games (all times local to Rio de Janeiro):

6:29 a.m.

Russia's Sports Minister says 272 of the country's athletes have received approval from international sports federations to compete at the Rio Olympics under new restrictions imposed due to the Russian doping scandal.

Vitaly Mutko tells Russian media that "as of today, 272 athletes have definitely been admitted to the Olympics," adding that a final figure would be available Saturday.

Russia had originally planned to send a 387-person team, but that has steadily been reduced as federations removed those who had previously served doping bans and those implicated in World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren's report alleging a massive cover-up of failed drug tests.