The International Olympic Committee's new television Channel will launch officially on Aug. 21, the last day of this year's Rio de Janeiro Games, as the organization looks to attract a new generation of fans. The digital platform will look to maintain interest in the Games year-round, especially in the two-year period between summer and winter Olympics with original programming, live events, news and highlights. "The launch of the Olympic Channel on 21st August is the start of an exciting new journey to connect the worldwide audience with the Olympic Movement all year round," IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement. "Fans will be able to follow sports, athletes and the stories behind the Olympic Games. The Olympic Channel will inspire us all and reach out to new generations of athletes and fans." The Olympic Channel will be available worldwide via a mobile app. Unveiled as a plan in 2014, the venture is expected to cost nearly half a billion euros for the period 2015-2021 with a prediction to break even within seven to 10 years. After the launch of the global digital product, the Olympic Channel will "foster partnerships with other Olympic stakeholders, including rights-holding broadcasters and National Olympic Committees to develop localised versions of the Olympic Channel," the IOC said. The Rio Games start on Aug. 5. Volleyball player Russia's flag bearer Sergei Tetyukhin, the captain of the Russian men's volleyball team, will carry the country's flag during the opening ceremony of the Rio Games, twice Olympic pole vault champion Elena Isinbayeva said Thursday. Isinbayeva is one of the athletes unable to attend the Rio Games because of the decision by the governing body International Association of Athletics Federation to ban Russian track and field athletes from Rio in response to systematic state-sponsored doping by the country. "Our flag bearer at the Rio Olympics has already been determined. Voleyball player Sergei Tetyukhin, who is a great sportsman and an Olympic champion, will be given the honor," Isinbayeva wrote on her Instagram page. The 40-year-old Tetyukhin won four Olympic medals, including gold at London 2012. The Rio Olympic Games will be his sixth. "Yesterday during the meeting with the president (Vladimir Putin) he conducted himself well and promised to fight for victory," Isinbayeva added. 3 Russian TT players cleared The International Table Tennis Federation has cleared the three Russian table tennis players who qualified for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics to compete. In a news release issued Wednesday, the ITTF said its investigation included individual tests outside the Russian anti-doping system. Also, the ITTF said the World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed none of the qualified players were implicated in the McLaren report. The table tennis players are Alexander Shibaev, Polina Mikhailova and Maria Dolgikh. Rousseff to skip ceremony Brazil's suspended President Dilma Rousseff says she'll skip the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on Aug. 5. In a series of messages on Twitter, Rousseff says she'll miss the event at which she was once expected to have a leading role. Acting President Michel Temer is expected at the Maracana stadium to open the games. Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also says he'll attend. He was in office when Rio won the bid in 2009. Rousseff's impeachment trial is expected to conclude in the Senate following the end of the games. The suspended president is accused of breaking fiscal laws, which she denies. BWF clears four Russians The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has included four Russian players in the draws for Rio de Janeiro Games, "pending the validation of the International Olympic Committee." The BWF held the draws for the Rio Games Tuesday and included Vladimir Malkov and Natalia Perminova in the men's and women's singles as well as the men's doubles partnership of Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov. "We have had a rigid drug-testing program, especially leading up to Rio 2016 and all four Russian athletes have been tested in and out of competition and their samples have been analysed outside of Russia," Secretary General Thomas Lund said during the draw. "We believe the information that we have provided on these athletes lives up to the criteria for participation in the Badminton Competition at Rio 2016, but it is left for the IOC to validate. "We have chosen to keep them in the draw, pending that validation." The badminton competition at the Rio Olympics takes place from Aug. 11-20.
