The Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS, today ruled against 68 Russian athletes in their appeal against international athletics ban from international competitions. The Russian Olympic Committee appealed against the International Association of Athletics Federations ban on Russian athletes' participation in international competitions on July 2nd. The IAAF first imposed the ban on the All-Russia Athletics Federation last November, then upheld it in June. Matthieu Reeb Reeb, CAS Secretary General stated that the athletes may submit appeal during 30 days. However CAS has emphasized that the door is open for the International Olympic Committee to decide on Russian athletes' participation in the Olympics. Lausanne-based CAS heard ROC's claim against the IAAF ban on Tuesday in Geneva. The International Olympic Committee said it would explore legal options ahead of deciding whether to ban the Russian national team from the Summer Olympics in Rio next month. An IOC spokeswoman suggested the decision would be forthcoming within a week, while several reports indicated the decision could be made this weekend.