Russian athletes are waiting nervously for news of whether their country's track and field team will be allowed to compete at next month's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Athletes from a variety of sports including track and field were gathered at a sponsor's event in Moscow ahead of a ruling, while outside the capital preparations were under way for a Russian domestic track and field championship featuring potential Olympic contenders.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport is due to rule on Russia's appeal against a ban placed on its entire track and field team by the International Association of Athletics Federations following repeated allegations of mass doping and state-sponsored cover-ups. If Russia succeeds in the appeal, it plans to send a 68-person track and field team to Rio de Janeiro.
If the ban is upheld, it could give extra momentum to a campaign for Russia's entire delegation across all sports to be banned from the Olympics, ahead of a key International Olympic Committee meeting Sunday.
An appeals court is set to rule on the ban imposed on Russia's track and field athletes for next month's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport is scheduled to issue a verdict Thursday in the case of 68 Russian track and field athletes seeking to overturn the ban imposed by the IAAF following allegations of state-sponsored doping and cover-ups.
The Russian appeal was heard by a CAS panel on Tuesday.
The appeal questions the validity of the IAAF decision and seeks to ensure the participation in Rio of athletes who are not accused of any doping violation.
The ruling could influence whether the entire Russian Olympic team is banned from the games.
AP