28 Russians have bans lifted

MOSCOW — Twentyeight 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 crosscountry 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, South Korea.

The 28 who had their bans lifted could seek late entry into the Winter Games at Pyeongchang, but the IOC said “not being sanctioned does not automatically confer the privilege of an invitation.”

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 other Olympic news:

• Ten North Korean skaters and skiers arrived in rival South Korea to participate in this month’s Winter Olympics, which has brought a temporary lull in tensions over the North’s nuclear weapons program. The North Koreans are the second and final batch of 22 athletes from their country who have won special entries from the International Olympic Committee for the Feb. 9-25 games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.