15 Russians will remain banned from Olympics

The International Olympic Committee rejected a request Monday to invite 15 Russians to the Pyeongchang Winter Games just days after the athletes’ doping bans were overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The 13 active athletes and two retired athletes working in support roles were among 28 whose bans were overturned by CAS Thursday. The ban on 11 others was upheld.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev denounced the IOC move as “shameful.”

“This decision is unfair, unlawful, amoral and politically charged,” Medvedev said on Facebook.

The IOC said as-yet unpublished evidence — not examined in the CAS process — gave rise to new doping suspicions about the 15 Russians. The Kremlin argued the CAS decision meant the 15 should be treated as clean.

“We expected the CAS decision would dispel all suspicions against the athletes,” said Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman.

On Monday, the IOC said part of its ruling was because “the full reasoning for these decisions had not been made public” by CAS.

“The decision of the CAS had not lifted the suspicion of doping, or given the panel sufficient confidence to recommend ... those 13 athletes could be considered as clean.”

The IOC said the two coaches “should not be considered for an invitation” because of previous evidence available to the IOC.

The IOC added it had “additional elements and/or evidence” that included “traces of prohibited substances and evidence of steroid profile manipulation.” It said this raised questions about the “integrity of these athletes.”

The IOC did not name the athletes, but Russian officials have said they include two 2014 goldmedal winners — cross-country skier Alexander Legkov and skeleton racer Alexander Tretiakov.