Some officials oppose a blanket ban on all Russian track athletes, or Russia's entire Olympic team, saying it would punish some athletes who are clean and have never been accused of doping. "The discussion will have to address the difficult decision between collective responsibility and individual justice," the IOC said. Critics say evidence of state-backed doping should be enough to keep the Russians out of Rio.

IOC executive board member C. Wu tells The Associated Press that the board backed the proposed inclusion of the combined baseball-softball bid, as well as surfing, karate, skate boarding and sport climbing. Olympic leaders have recommended the addition of baseball-softball and four other sports to the program of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Coates said the IOC's recommendation follows an agreement between the International Roller Skating Federation and the International Skateboarding Federation. He says the ISF will run the sport at the Olympics.

Earlier Wednesday, Russia ramped up its campaign Wednesday for its track and field team to be allowed to compete at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, contending it had met the conditions for reinstatement and saying it would be "obvious discrimination" to exclude athletes who have been not linked to doping.

In one case, an unnamed athlete in track and field attempted to give a fake urine sample using "a container inserted inside her body" but was discovered and tested positive when her real urine was examined. Athletes have repeatedly provided false information about their whereabouts and evaded drug testers at competitions, WADA said.

Fifty-five positive tests have already been recorded in retesting of samples from the Beijing and London Games. IOC vice president John Coates says the executive board was unanimous in its decision to recommend the addition of five sports to the program of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He says baseball-softball, surfing, karate, skateboarding and sport climbing were approved as a single package on Wednesday. They will be presented that way when the recommendation is put to a vote at the IOC general assembly in Rio de Janeiro in August on the eve of the Summer Games.

Wednesday's WADA report says doping control officers were "intimidated" when trying to find athletes who said they were in so-called closed cities hosting military facilities, and alleges "armed FSB agents threatening DCOs with expulsion from the country.

Two days before the IAAF decides whether to maintain or lift its ban on Russia's track federation, a group of Russian athletes sent an open letter to IOC President Thomas Bach and a top Russian Olympic official issued a four-page statement appealing for the country's "clean" athletes to be cleared to compete at the Rio Games.

It's not one that we were really looking for, that endorsement from them. It builds more excitement for us as we move toward the August full vote of the IOC council. "Even though it's not the final vote, it's a huge step in the right direction. "Validation is always important," USA Softball executive director Craig Cress said. It's great that they did. We didn't know they were going to be doing that. We're extremely excited and extremely happy today.

Kenya, a powerhouse in long-distance running, is currently adopting anti-doping legislation it hopes will make it compliant. "Let's wait until the IAAF comes back with a decision before we decide what happens next," he said. "
The IOC said its pre-Rio anti-doping program would put "special focus" on countries whose testing program is non-compliant with global rules, naming Russia, Kenya and Mexico. "It's wrong to speculate on what we may or may not do.

(AP Photo/Felipe Dana/File) With the opening ceremony just over two months away, Olympic leaders have plenty of challenges to discuss this week when they meet for the last time before gathering in Rio de Janeiro on the eve of South America