IOC UPHOLDS BAN AGAINST RUSSIA
PYEONGCHANG» The International Olympic Committee on Sunday upheld the ban of Russia from the Pyeongchang Winter Games because of doping, denying the 168 athletes competing here as Olympic Athletes from Russia the right to march in the closing ceremony under their country’s flag.
The IOC’S full membership unanimously approved the recommendation of the executive board just hours before the final competition and the closing ceremony. Fifty-two of the IOC’S 100 members were present for the vote on the fallout from the massive Russian doping scandal, which has tarnished the IOC and raised doubts about its ability to protect clean athletes.
The IOC repeatedly said going into the Olympics that Russian athletes had been “rigorously tested,” implying they were unlikely to fail drug tests.
IOC president Thomas Bach said a condition for Russia’s reinstatement was no further positive drug tests at these Olympics. Two of the four athletes who tested positive in Pyeongchang were Russian, including a curler who had to return his bronze medal.
“The IOC executive board decided first not to lift the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee for the closing ceremony,” Bach said, “therefore, no delegation of the Russian Olympic Committee will have taken part in these Olympic Winter Games.”
Gold in speedskating for South Korea. KOREA»
GANGNEUNG, SOUTH
Top favorite Lee Seung-hoon skated a masterful race and unleashed a final sprint that no one could match to take gold for South Korea in the men’s mass start.
Behind him, Belgian inline skater Bart Swings held on to take silver ahead of Koen Verweij of the Netherlands.
In a tactical race, 5,000-meter champion Sven Kramer went for gold with four laps to go, but the Dutchman was caught just as he entered the final lap. From then on, it was a race among the trio, and Lee’s skills on the tight final corner paid off.
It was the first South Korean gold medal at the Gangneung Oval.
Takagi takes women’s mass start. KOREA»
GANGNEUNG, SOUTH
Japan’s Nana Takagi blasted past opposition in the final straightaway to win the first women’s mass start ahead of Kim Bo-reum of South Korea and take her second gold medal of the Pyeongchang Olympics.
Irene Schouten of the Netherlands was leading into the final straightaway but went too wide on the final corner and had to settle for bronze Saturday.
Takagi already was part of Japan’s team pursuit that won gold earlier in the week.
It was the third gold medal already for Japan at the Olympic speedskating Oval.
Gold for Finland. PYEONGCHANG»
Iivo Niskanen captured Finland’s first gold medal of the Pyeongchang Games.
He beat Russian Alexander Bolshunov with a strong sprint to the finish in the 50-kilometer mass start Saturday.
Bolshunov took the silver and teammate Andrey Larkov won the bronze. It’s the first time in 11 races that Norway failed to medal in a cross-country race here.
Footnotes. The Swedish women won the gold medal in curling. They beat South Korea 8-3 in nine ends to leave the “Garlic Girls” with a silver that is the hosts’ first Olympic medal in the sport. Japan beat Britain 5-3 in the women’s bronze medal match. … Francesco Friedrich drove to the four-man bobsledding gold medal Sunday, finishing their four runs in 3 minutes, 15.85 seconds to win by more than a half-second. The Korean sled driven by Won Yunjong and the German sled driven by Nico Walther shared the silver, the second sliding medal tie in these games after they finished in 3:16.38. … Andrew Ebbett, Chris Kelly and Derek Roy each scored in the first period, and Canada took the bronze medal by beating the Czech Republic 6-4 in men’s hockey.