Winter Olympics: Ahn gone, says Russia

MOSCOW— Speed skater Viktor Ahn, a six-time Olympic gold medallist, is among several top Russian athletes barred from the upcoming Pyeongchang Games amid the country’s ongoing doping scandal, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) said Tuesday.

The ROC says Ahn, as well as crosscountry skier Sergei Ustyugov and biathlete Anton Shipulin — both reigning world champions — have been left out of an International Olympic Committee (IOC) pool of eligible athletes.

ROC senior vice-president Stanislav Pozdnyakov said in a statement that he discovered the absences during negotiations with IOC officials on Monday and has asked the IOC to explain why they were not included.