Russian Olympic Committee approve competing as neutrals

MOSCOW: The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) formally gave their blessing for the country’s athletes to compete under a neutral flag at the upcoming Pyeongchang Games.

Under International Olympic Committee ( IOC) sanctions announced last week in response to Russian doping at the 2014 Sochi Games, Russians will compete under the Olympic flag as “Olympic Athletes from Russia.”

“The opinion of all taking part was united, and that was that our athletes need to go to South Korea, compete and win,” ROC president Alexander Zhukov said after the organisation held a closed congress yesterday.

Russian president Vladimir Putin gave his backing last week.

Some Russians will formally be invited by the IOC to compete as individual athletes, though the ROC will submit rosters of their pre- ferred teams.

“I think the IOC will make sure that the strongest Russian athletes get the invitations, so that, for example, our hockey team consist of the best players,” Zhukov said, adding that 200 athletes could end up competing in South Korea.

Russian athletes going to Pyeongchang still need to pass a screening from an IOC committee which will examine their history of drug testing.

Zhukov said Russia still denies operating a doping programme at the 2014 Olympics and rejected any suggestion he had made a deal with the IOC to avoid harsher sanctions.

“It’s unacceptable to take away an athlete’s right to represent his country.

“In my view, it breaks not only the Olympic charter, but human rights,” Zhukov said. “So you really can’t talk about a deal here. — AFP