"Medals over morals mentality" just got Russia kicked out of the Paralympics

The International Paralympic Committee has banned Russia from competing in the Paralympic Games in Rio in September, as a result of what it says is athletes' involvement in a state-sponsored doping program.

The ban comes off the findings of the McLaren report which revealed the elaborate doping scheme, which Russia's sports ministry officials "directed, controlled and oversaw". The damning report, which was commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency and published last month, also showed how officials regularly made urine samples disappear that tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and replaced them with clean ones.

The International Paralympic Committee says it has evidence, separate from the McLaren report, that the sample swapping regime was in operation during both the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.

"Tragically, this situation is not about athletes cheating a system, but about a state-run system that is cheating the athletes," said Sir Philip Craven, IPC President, in a statement. "I believe the Russian government has catastrophically failed its Para athletes. Their medals over morals mentality disgusts me."

"It shows a blatant disregard for the health and well-being of athletes and, quite simply, has no place in Paralympic sport," Craven added. "Their thirst for glory at all costs has severely damaged the integrity and image of all sport."

The IPC's decision to issue a blanket ban on Russian athletes comes after the International Olympic Committee came to a more measured solution, saying that individual sports federations should be able to determine whether Russians can compete.

Russia came second by medal count in the 2012 London paralympics, the Associated Press reports, and had 267 slots in Rio across 18 sports.