IOC wary of another Russian doping scandal
Seeking to avoid “negative surprises” about past doping by Russian athletes after they compete at the Pyeongchang Olympics, IOC President Thomas Bach told reporters in a conference call from Lausanne, Switzerland that only clean athletes with “not the slightest doubt or suspicion” about them should go to the games that open Feb. 9.
Six-time short-track speedskating gold medalist Viktor Ahn is among several high-profile Russians blocked from competing in South Korea by an IOC panel that is assessing each athlete’s testing history and potential forensic evidence.
Five hockey players have also been barred, including former NHL players Sergei Plotnikov, Valeri Nichushkin and Anton Belov.
Declining to discuss individual cases, Bach did suggest potential evidence from a Moscow testing laboratory’s database is one such factor.
The database trove being studied by the IOC invitation panel covers years of the lab’s work when Russia operated a state-backed program of doping and cover-ups across summer and winter sports.
Another possible reason for excluding a Russian athlete from the Olympics is appearing on the so-called “Duchess List” of athletes using a steroids cocktail compiled by former lab director Grigory Rodchenkov. He is a key whistleblower now living as a protected witness in the United States.
Organizers want to avoid situations “where there are new facts arriving,” said Bach, who wants to avoid altering Pyeongchang results and reallocating medals to clean athletes after the games.
Soccer
MIAMI MLS TEAM TO BE UNVEILED >> David Beckham and his partners are planning a Monday event to formally announce Miami’s new Major League Soccer team, as well as its name and logo, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because neither Beckham’s group nor MLS officials had announced the plans publicly.
A spokesman for Beckham did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His group has said it wants the new team to begin play in the 2020 season.
It will be South Florida’s second chance to have an MLS franchise. The Miami Fusion played from 1998 through 2001 in Fort Lauderdale, about a half-hour’s drive north of Miami, and folded because of poor attendance.
Horse racing
GUN RUNNER HEAVY FAVORITE >> Gun Runner is the overwhelming 4-5 favorite for Saturday’s $16 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park. But the 5-year-old will have to win his finale from a post near the outside after drawing the No. 10 spot in an expected 12-horse field.
Gun Runner will be racing for the last time before retirement.
He has won four consecutive starts, all of them Grade 1 events, and will have a chance to push his career earnings to nearly $16 million.
Tennis
SERENA PLOTS RETURN FOR INDIAN WELLS >> Serena Williams plans to return to tournament play after the birth of her first child in March in the Southern California desert.
Williams was among the entries released Wednesday for the BNP Paribas Open, which runs March 5-18 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
It will be the two-time champion’s first tournament after 14 months off. Her daughter was born in September.