47 RUSSIANS STILL IN LIMBO OVER PYEONGCHANG

IOC PRESIDENT Thomas Bach has defended the approach to Russian doping, even though the final Winter Olympics participants won’t be confirmed until hours before tomorrow’s opening ceremony. The Court of Arbitration for Sport will decide either tonight or tomorrow on whether 47 Russian athletes — 32 from a hearing adjourned yesterday and 15 new cases — will be invited to compete in Pyeongchang. Bach insisted the IOC could not act solely on the damning findings of systemic doping by Russians at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. He added: ‘Hopefully soon we can have a strengthened system in anti-doping which allows us to protect our values.’