Olympic doping bans lifted for 28 Russians
Panel upholds appeals, cites lack of evidence
MOSCOW — Twenty-eight Russian athletes had their Olympic doping bans overturned Thursday, throwing the International Olympic Committee’s policy on the country into turmoil.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling was set to reinstate seven Russian medals from the 2014 Sochi Olympics, including gold in men’s skeleton and men’s 50-kilometer cross-country skiing.
“This does not mean that these 28 athletes are declared innocent, but in their case, due to insufficient evidence, the appeals are upheld, the sanctions annulled and their individual results achieved in Sochi are reinstated,” CAS secretary general Matthieu Reeb said in Pyeongchang.
The IOC said it had taken note of the CAS decision “with satisfaction on the one hand and disappointment on the other,” adding the decision “may have a serious impact on the future fight against doping.”
The 28 who had their bans lifted could now seek late entry into the Pyeongchang Olympics, but the IOC said “not being sanctioned does not automatically confer the privilege of an invitation.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the ruling “can’t fail to please us, and it confirms our position that the overwhelming majority of our athletes are clean athletes.”
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko said at a televised cabinet meeting that the government would back further legal action to allow the athletes to compete in Pyeongchang “if the IOC does not accept them.”
Eleven more Russians were ruled to have been guilty of doping but had lifetime bans imposed by an
IOC disciplinary panel two months ago cut to a ban only from the Pyeongchang Games, which open next week.
In the urgent verdicts, the two CAS judging panels who heard 39 appeal cases last week in Geneva — and took testimony from Russian whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov — did not give detailed reasons.
The World Anti-doping Agency, whose investigator Richard Mclaren verified Rodchenkov’s claims, said late Thursday it “notes with serious concern” the CAS decision and did not rule out an appeal.
“WADA understands that this decision will cause dismay and frustration among athletes. The agency supports the IOC’S intention to analyze these decisions very carefully and consider all options, including an appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal.”
The 11 whose appeals were rejected came from men’s bobsled, women’s cross-country skiing and women’s hockey.
They included two-time bobsled gold medalist Alexander Zubkov.
His retested samples had abnormal levels of salt, suggesting his tainted urine was swapped in the Sochi testing laboratory with previously stored clean urine, as Rodchenkov said.
Still, the CAS rulings will be seen as a victory for Russia, which has long denied it ran a state-backed doping program.
The IOC has already invited 169 Russians to the Pyeonchang Olympics to compete under a neutral flag, but may now be forced to allow in athletes it deems dopers, eight days before the games begin.