RIO DE JANEIRO >> The IOC has set up a special three-person panel to make a final ruling on which individual Russian athletes are allowed to compete in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee’s ruling executive board made the decision Saturday in its final meeting before the opening of the Rio Games next Friday.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams says the panel will decide on the entry of the Russian athletes who have been put forward by individual sports federations and approved by an independent arbitrator.

He says “this panel will decide whether to accept or reject that final proposal.”

Adams says the panel will have to make its ruling before the opening ceremony, just six days away.