No Olympics for ‘exonerated’ Russians

PYEONGCHANG: Fifteen Russians whose life bans for doping were lifted last week have been barred from the Pyeongchang Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said yesterday, as Russia’s drugs conspiracy continued to reverberate just days from the opening ceremony.

The decision was taken after a special panel “unanimously recommended that the IOC not invite the 15 individuals to the Pyeongchang Olympics,” a statement said.

“The OAR IG (Olympic Athlete from Russia Implementation Group) confirmed no additional invitations will be extended to these 15 individuals,” the IOC said.

The 15 were among a group of 28 Russians who had been banned for life from the Olympics for doping, but whose suspensions were overturned at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday.

The IOC has barred Russia from the Pyeongchang Olympics, which o p e n s o n Fr i d a y, o v e r a widespread doping conspiracy. But 169 Russians who have passed strict anti-doping protocols will compete under a neutral flag.

The announcement comes after the body’s president, Thomas Bach, slammed the CAS decision and called for reforms to the independent sports tribunal.

“This CAS decision is extremely disappointing and needs a very careful review which we will do. If we can appeal it we will,” said Bach.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has also expressed “serious concern” over the decision by CAS, which said had insufficient evidence to leave the bans in place.

Australia’s John Coates, president of the court’s governing body, said the tribunal would “thoroughly examine” the concerns raised by Bach and would issue details of the decisions as soon as possible.

“Athletes are entitled to have confidence in judicial processes at all levels, more particularly before the CAS,” Coates said in a statement.

The IOC’s Invitation Review Panel, which looked into the cases of the Russians, said it had “additional information” including data from a leaked database which showed “traces of prohibited substances (and) evidence of steroid profile manipulation.”

“The panel agreed that the CAS decision had not lifted the suspicion of doping or given the panel sufficient confidence to recommend to the OAR IG that those 13 athletes could be considered as clean,” the IOC said. AFP