Russia expects 200 athletes in PyeongChang

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 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 number 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.

“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.

The IOC said Tuesday 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.

Athletes would be prevented from displaying Russian flags in competition venues, but that prohibition is unlikely to extend to fans in the stands.

Russian athletes still need to pass a screening from an IOC committee, which will examine their history of drug testing. It’s not clear if the Russian women’s hockey team could be excluded because of Tuesday’s IOC bans.