BBC Sports
The Russian Olympic Committee has said 14 of its athletes who competed at the 2008 Olympics have tested positive for doping following hundreds of re-tests.
Sports minister Vitaly Mutko admitted the news "doesn't look good" but said the results were "not an objective picture" of Russia's doping situation. A Russian TV report revealed the names of the 14 athletes, which include 10 medallists from the 2008 Beijing Games.
Among those is Anna Chicherova, who won bronze in the high jump. Chicherova, who went on to win gold at London 2012, vowed to clear her name and hopes to compete at the Rio Games in August.
"It's the most complete shock," she said. "I can't explain how it could have happened. I was always sure what supplements and medicines I was using."
Russian Olympic officials said they had received information about the positive re-tests in "official documents" from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The IOC said 454 doping samples from Beijing had been re-tested using the latest scientific methods and that up to 31 athletes from around the world could be banned from the Rio Olympics, which begin on 5 August, as a result.
Russia's athletes are already banned from international competition following allegations of state-organised doping.
But in an interview with BBC sports editor Dan Roan, Mutko said he expected the ban to be lifted for Rio because it would be "useless" for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to continue punishing them.
He also held the IAAF partly responsible for Russia's predicament, claiming it helped cover up the positive tests.
"The priority for them (IAAF) must be the development of track and field worldwide and you cannot achieve that with punishment," he said.
"It damages hugely the reputation and image of track and field. It would decrease the popularity of the sport in Russia. Kids would not want to do it."
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