Vladimir Putin: Olympic ban is pure discrimination

Vladimir Putin says the absence of Russian track and field athletes will devalue the Games

President Vladimir Putin has hit out at the decision to ban Russian track and field athletes from the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio.

Putin described the exclusion of the athletes as discrimination and part of a 'deliberate campaign'.

And Putin also said that medals won in Rio would be devalued due to the absence of Russian participation.

"Your colleagues from other sports powers realise that the value of their medals will be different," Putin told track and field stars such as Yelena Isinbayeva and Sergey Shubenkov.

"This victory will have a different taste - or no taste at all."

And the Russian president added: "The current situation does not only go beyond the legal sphere, it goes beyond common sense.

"We cannot accept indiscriminate disqualification of our athletes with absolutely clean doping histories. We cannot and will not accept what in fact is pure discrimination."

Pole vaulting great Yelena Isinbayeva will have to sit out the Rio Olympics

Putin was speaking after the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) had confirmed that the ban on the athletes would remain in place.

The suspension was imposed in November due to systematic state-sponsored doping by Russia and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld that decision last week.

Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko wrote to the IAAF on Monday in an attempt to get the ban overturned but was told there were "no grounds for further review".

Putin spoke to the Russian team on Wednesday, before they fly out on Thursday, and dozens of the track and field athletes who are not eligible to compete in the Rio Games also attended.

"It's obvious that the absence of Russian competitors, leaders in many disciplines, will lower the intensity of the fight and that means the spectacle at the upcoming events," said Putin.

More than 100 Russian athletes - including all but one of the track and field team - will miss the Olympics but the country has avoided being totally excluded.  

Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a meeting with Russian athletes at the Kremlin

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) sparked fierce criticism on Sunday when it resisted a blanket ban in favour of allowing individual sports federations to make the call on which Russians can go to Rio.

And Russia's Olympic team could number more than 200 after fencing, triathlon and volleyball became the latest sports to declare the country's athletes eligible to take part in the Games on Wednesday.