Rio countdown = 10 days.

While the official Rio start list was released last week, the list of conditions for Russian participation were also updated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last week. One of those conditions states, "No Russian athlete who has ever been sanctioned for doping will be allowed to compete at Rio even if they've already served their sanction." This means a couple of medal contenders may not even take the platform.

Tatiana Kashirina (W+75) and Anastasia Romanova (W69) both served sanctions for doping—Kashirina from 2008-2010, and Romanova from 2013-2015. This could mean something for Team USA's Sarah Robles, who is also a W+75. Kashirina took gold at Worlds in 2015; Robles took sixth. The only other athlete on the Rio start list who was also at Worlds in 2015 and placed above Robles was Kuk Hyang Kim (North Korea), who took bronze.

If Robles can medal in Rio, she will be the third U.S. woman to do so. Tara (Nott) Cunningham (W48) and Cheryl Haworth (W+75) took gold and bronze respectively in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

Photo Credit: Tatiana Kashirina Instagram (@tani240191)