Russian Olympic Committee expects 200 to compete in South Korea

MOSCOW Despite Russia’s ban from the upcoming Olympics, officials in the country still expect more than 200 of their athletes to compete at the Pyeongchang Games.

Under International Olympic Committee sanctions announced last week, all Russians must compete under the Olympic flag as “Olympic Athletes from Russia.”

“Potentially more than 200 athletes are in a position to qualify,” ROC president Alexander Zhukov said after the organization held a closed congress on Tuesday.

The decision to ban Russia came after the country was found to have run a sophisticated doping program at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. On Tuesday, the IOC disqualified the Russian women’s hockey team because six players were implicated in doping offences.

That brings the total of Russians banned from Sochi to 31 and makes Russia the first country in history with more than 100 Olympic disqualifications, according to Olympic historian Bill Mallon.

Zhukov said the Russian Olympic committee unanimously voted for the athletes to compete despite the restrictions placed on the national team.

“The opinion of all taking part was united, and that was that our athletes need to go to South Korea, compete and win for the glory of Russia,” Zhukov said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his backing last week.

Tuesday’s conference took place at ROC headquarters, which was built for the 1980 Moscow Olympics. The corridors are decorated with pictures of Russian medallists , including several who have since had those honours stripped for doping — verdicts not accepted by the ROC. A gift shop sells patriotically-themed trinkets including mugs with Putin’s image and even a kettlebell in the shape of the president’s head.

The national hockey team attended the conference wearing shirts reading “Russia is in my heart,” while other athletes turned up in blue uniforms designed for the Russian team to wear in Pyeongchang. Launched last month, they now seem unlikely ever to be worn at an Olympics.

The IOC said Tuesday that the “Olympic Athlete from Russia” name will appear on uniforms. The IOC is working on regulations likely to ensure Russia does not feature prominently in the design that includes neutral colours.