Rio de Janeiro, Dhu-AlQa'dah 02, 1437, August 05, 2016, SPA -- The International Olympic Committee says that 271 Russians are eligible to compete at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, dpa reported. The news came after all Russian athletes who will compete at the Games had to undergo a thorough investigation by their respective federation, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and an IOC panel to be eligible in the wake of allegations that Russia ran a widespread and state-sponsored doping programme. The selection was made on the basis of a report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). WADA had called on a blanket ban for Russians in Rio, but the IOC stopped short of such a step and decided on its own procedure. However, the number of Russians could grow as the CAS has now ruled that the IOC cannot ban Russian rowers Anastasia Karabelshikova and Ivan Podshivalov from Rio over past doping offences, and referred it back to the rowing federation. --SPA 01:50 LOCAL TIME 22:50 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w