The case involves Russian canoeists Natalia Podolskaya and Alexander Dyachenko challenging their exclusion from the 2016 Rio Olympics by the International Canoe Federation (ICF) due to allegations of involvement in a state-sponsored doping scheme outlined in the McLaren Report. The report detailed a systematic doping program in Russia, including the manipulation of test results through a "Disappearing Positive Methodology" orchestrated by the Russian Ministry of Sport with assistance from the FSB. The ICF suspended the athletes based on evidence from the report, which indicated their samples were marked for "SAVE," leading to false negative reports despite suspected prohibited substances. The athletes argued they were denied procedural fairness, claiming insufficient opportunity to challenge the evidence. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reviewed the case, with submissions from the athletes, ICF, International Olympic Committee (IOC), and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The CAS panel found the athletes had been given opportunities to rebut the evidence but failed to do so or request additional time. The panel upheld the ICF's decision, emphasizing the athletes were not denied procedural fairness and were implicated in the doping scheme. The IOC had issued guidelines requiring individual assessments of Russian athletes, but the panel concluded the athletes did not meet the eligibility criteria due to their involvement in the systemic doping program. The athletes' claims of innocence and reliance on negative test results were dismissed, as the panel found the systemic manipulation described in the McLaren Report undermined the reliability of those results. The CAS decision, rendered on August 8, 2016, dismissed the athletes' application, reaffirming their ineligibility for the Rio Olympics. The case highlights the challenges of addressing state-sponsored doping and the complexities of determining individual accountability within a broader institutional scheme. The ruling set a precedent for handling similar cases involving the McLaren Report's findings, underscoring the collective responsibility attributed to Russian athletes in the doping scandal.