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The governing body for world athletics said in a statement on November 26 that it had received "written confirmation" from the All Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) "accepting their full suspension without requesting a hearing as was their constitutional right."
In a letter to the IAAF, the general secretary of ARAF, Mikhail Butov, said, "We are working very hard now in Russia to change a lot." Earlier this month, WADA suspended the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) and Russia's accredited testing laboratory after an independent commission uncovered widespread doping offenses and systematic failures.
Also, the IAAF has provisionally banned Russia from international competition, potentially keeping Russian athletes out of next year's Summer Olympic Games in Rio.
Russia Accepts Doping Ban
MoreReminder of Last Prophet's words from Jun 2014 (examples added identifiable by date):
The IAAF and FIFA suicide mission
Contrast "Putin" with presidents Blatter (FIFA, football) and Coe (IAAF, athletics).
Although "Putin" has the mastermind role in this suicide mission, it's the FIFA and IAAF presidents who have a mission of type "Destruction of what they supposedly stand for".
IAAF is to be totally destroyed while FIFA only partly. On the other it's Blatter not Coe who will fully detonate ("arrested").
Blog
Illuminati suicide bombers: Illuminati suicide bombers - BASICS: suicide missions; Introductory bombs; Full detonation
The surprise move will mean some of the world's top athletes are at risk of missing August's Olympic Games in Rio. Kenya, one of the major forces in world athletics, has already missed two World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) deadlines to show it is tackling cheating in sport. Wada's compliance committee ruled the country "non-compliant" when its board met in Montreal on Thursday, citing issues with anti-doping legislation. The recommendation needs to be ratified by the Wada board.
After a series of drugs and corruption scandals, Kenya had been warned to comply with Wada's rules or face sanctions. Last month, it finally passed legislation that created a new national anti-doping agency, with President Uhuru Kenyatta personally driving the new law through. It was widely assumed that the measure would satisfy Wada. David Were, chair of the Kenya parliament sports and welfare committee which developed the anti-doping bill, said Kenya will appeal the decision.
Were told the BBC he was "shocked" by the decision, adding "we have met all the requirements" and claiming the bill's proposals were "stringent enough". It will now be up to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to decide whether to ban Kenyan athletes from the Rio Games or any other competitions. They could come under pressure to do so, amid an unprecedented doping crisis and mounting concern over the country's lack of action against cheating.
Kenyan doping
The Olympic hopes of the powerhouse teams from both countries took serious blows Thursday after the World Anti-Doping Agency delivered stinging rebukes to attempts to clean up their drug-addled programs. The WADA foundation board suspended Kenya's anti-doping agency after determining a new law passed there to combat doping was "a complete mess." The agency also released new numbers out of Russia showing that testing by independent authorities has decreased by more than two-thirds in the past year. "Disappointing and disturbing information," said Beckie Scott, the Canadian gold-medal cross country skier who chairs WADA's athlete committee.
At the London Olympics, Russia won 16 medals and Kenya won 11. At world championships last year, the Kenyans tied Jamaica for the most gold medals, with seven. Among those whose participation in Rio is in jeopardy include 800-meter world-record holder David Rudisha and both the men's and women's winners of last month's London Marathon, Eliud Kipchoge and Jemima Sumgong. Russia has a stable of champion race-walkers and champions in field events, including world-record pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva.
The final call on whether either country's track team will be eligible for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics is left to the sport's governing body, the IAAF, which is set to decide about Russia at a meeting on June 17. IAAF also has jurisdiction over the Kenyan track team, and while it's not unthinkable a team could compete without its country's anti-doping agency intact, WADA's move certainly raises the bar. "If it's a sports federation, you wouldn't run your world championships in an unaccredited country, you wouldn't hold conferences there and that kind of thing," said WADA president Craig Reedie. "But the world of sport and the world of government doesn't confer on me the power to decide those kind of questions."
Maybe they should.
MORE
"We are extremely disappointed by the IAAF’s decision, creating the unprecedented situation of a whole nation’s track and field athletes being banned from the Olympics," said the Russian ministry of sport. "Clean athletes' dreams are being destroyed because of the reprehensible behavior of other athletes and officials. "We now appeal to the members of the International Olympic Committee to not only consider the impact that our athletes’ exclusion will have on their dreams and the people of Russia, but also that the Olympics themselves will be diminished by their absence." The IAAF voted unanimously to uphold its ban on Russia for systematic doping, saying the country had not made enough progress on reforms to dispel concerns of state-sponsored drug abuse.
The Russian athletics federation blamed the media, saying: “The pressure which we experienced in the last few days ahead of the council meeting, when every day we had some kind of interview or publications, which as a rule had negative connotations, doubtlessly influenced the decision.” Yelena Isinbayeva, who had hoped to seek a third Olympic pole vault gold in Rio and who is one of Russia’s most prominent athletes, described it as a violation of human rights. “I will not be quiet, I will take steps. I will go to the human rights court. I will prove to the IAAF and WADA that they made the wrong decision,” she said, referring to the World Anti-Doping Agency. A Kremlin spokesman, speaking hours before the ban was extended, said: “Everything possible needed to defend the rights of our athletes and the Olympic team is being done and will be done at a legal level."
The IOC merely “took note” of the decision but said it would discuss the situation in a telephone conference on Saturday. The United States Olympic Committee described it as a step in the right direction. “It gives a measure of hope to clean athletes that there are consequences not only for athletes who dope, but for countries which do not engage seriously in the fight against doping,” it said. Stephanie Hightower, president of US Track and Field and an IAAF Council member, said it was “the only proper course of action given the compelling and powerful evidence presented to Council. “We do not believe that every Russian athlete cheated, and it is unfortunate and regrettable that some may pay a penalty for the serious transgressions of their federation." There was some sympathy elsewhere too for innocent Russian athletes, with American Olympic decathlon silver medalist Trey Hardee saying: “Sad day for Russian athletes. The people in charge should be punished, they created the culture of dope”.
Russia cries foul, rest of world welcomes IAAF's ban
Russia's athletics federation was suspended by the sport's world governing body, the IAAF, after an independent report found evidence of widespread doping. The Russian Olympic Committee and 68 athletes appealed against that decision but after hearing evidence from both sides, Cas has ruled the ban can stand.
Separately, the International Olympic Committee is considering calls to ban all Russian competitors across all sports from the Olympic Games following a second report into state-sponsored doping. "The Cas panel confirmed that the ROC is not entitled to nominate Russian track and field athletes to compete at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games considering that they are not eligible to participate under the IAAF competition rules," a spokesman said.
The IAAF said it was "pleased Cas has supported its position", saying the judgement had "created a level playing field for athletes". IAAF president, Lord Coe, added: "This is not a day for triumphant statements. I didn't come into this sport to stop athletes from competing. "Beyond Rio, the IAAF taskforce will continue to work with Russia to establish a clean safe environment for its athletes so that its federation and team can return to international recognition and competition."
The end of the road for Russia's athletes?
Despite the ban, the IAAF had previously said a handful of the country's athletes could compete in Rio as neutrals if they meet a number of criteria, including being repeatedly tested outside their homeland. At least two Russian athletes - 800m runner and doping whistleblower Yuliya Stepanova and US-based long jumper Darya Klishina - have already taken advantage of that decision and the Cas ruling has cleared the way for more to follow. Cas said the ROC would still be able to nominate "Russian track and field athletes who fulfil the criteria" to compete as neutrals at the Games. But a Cas spokesman added the panel had "expressed concerns" that the short timeframe "left no possibility for the athletes to comply with the criteria". The Games begin on 5 August.
Why were Russian athletes banned?
Russia banned from Rio Olympics...
Russia fails to overturn athlete ban for next month's Games
Thu, 21 Jul 2016 - A decision to ban Russian athletes from Rio 2016 over an alleged state-sponsored doping regime is upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Russia's athletics federation was suspended by the sport's world governing body, the IAAF, after an independent report found evidence of widespread doping. The Russian Olympic Committee and 68 athletes appealed against that decision but after hearing evidence from both sides, Cas has ruled the ban can stand.
Separately, the International Olympic Committee is considering calls to ban all Russian competitors across all sports from the Olympic Games following a second report into state-sponsored doping. "The Cas panel confirmed that the ROC is not entitled to nominate Russian track and field athletes to compete at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games considering that they are not eligible to participate under the IAAF competition rules," a spokesman said.
The IAAF said it was "pleased Cas has supported its position", saying the judgement had "created a level playing field for athletes". IAAF president, Lord Coe, added: "This is not a day for triumphant statements. I didn't come into this sport to stop athletes from competing. "Beyond Rio, the IAAF taskforce will continue to work with Russia to establish a clean safe environment for its athletes so that its federation and team can return to international recognition and competition."
The end of the road for Russia's athletes?
Despite the ban, the IAAF had previously said a handful of the country's athletes could compete in Rio as neutrals if they meet a number of criteria, including being repeatedly tested outside their homeland. At least two Russian athletes - 800m runner and doping whistleblower Yuliya Stepanova and US-based long jumper Darya Klishina - have already taken advantage of that decision and the Cas ruling has cleared the way for more to follow. Cas said the ROC would still be able to nominate "Russian track and field athletes who fulfil the criteria" to compete as neutrals at the Games. But a Cas spokesman added the panel had "expressed concerns" that the short timeframe "left no possibility for the athletes to comply with the criteria". The Games begin on 5 August.
Why were Russian athletes banned?
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IOC president Thomas Bach said the body shied away from a historic outright ban in order to protect the rights of clean Russian competitors hoping to take part at the Games which start in two weeks. Individual sports federations will have primary responsibility for determining every Russian athlete's eligibility for Rio, the IOC executive said. But Bach stressed that strict checks put in place for Russians proved the IOC had gotten tough with a country accused of running a vast doping programme.
United States anti-doping chief Travis Tygart, one of many who urged a total ban against Russia, blasted the IOC for creating "a confusing mess." "In response to the most important moment for clean athletes and the integrity of the Olympic Games, the IOC has refused to take decisive leadership," the USADA boss said in a statement. Britain's Chris Hoy, a six-time Olympic gold medallist, said the IOC had shirked its responsibilities. "What sort of message does this send out? Surely IOC's job is to make crucial decisions rather than passing the buck," tweeted Hoy. British long jump Olympic champion Greg Rutherford told The Guardian: "I had a terrible feeling that arms would be twisted."
The IOC faced global pressure to act after a World Anti-Doping Agency report last week detailed a cheating programme directed by the Russian sports ministry with help from the FSB state intelligence agency. The cheating affected 30 sports, including at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and other major events, WADA said, in revelations that widened the worst drug scandal in Olympic history. Russia's entire track and field squad has already been barred from Rio following a similar WADA report on "state-supported" doping. Fourteen national anti-doping agencies -- including the US, Germany and Japan -- as well as several national Olympic committees had demanded Russia's exclusion from Rio.
Others, especially top political leaders in Moscow, insisted collective punishment would be unjust. Bach said the IOC reached a decision that considered the severity of the misconduct while also sending "a message of encouragement to clean Russian athletes." "This may not please everybody, but this result is one which is respecting the rules of justice and all the clean athletes all over the world," Bach told reporters after the IOC executive conference. Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko -- a key player in the WADA report who has been banned from Rio -- hailed the IOC's "objective" decision. Separately, an IOC ethics commission ruled that 800m runner Yuliya Stepanova, who turned whistleblower on doping in Russian athletics, could not go to Rio even as a neutral.
- Tight timeline -
The IOC on Sunday resisted calls for a blanket ban on Russians competing in next month's Games due to the country's doping record, leaving decisions on individual athletes' participation with their sports federations. "WADA is disappointed that the IOC did not heed WADA’s Executive Committee recommendations that were based on the outcomes of the McLaren Investigation and would have ensured a straight-forward, strong and harmonized approach,” WADA President Craig Reedie said in a statement. “The McLaren Report exposed, beyond a reasonable doubt, a state-run doping program in Russia that seriously undermines the principles of clean sport embodied within the World Anti-Doping Code," Reedie added.
WADA also joined other anti-doping leaders in expressing concern over the effect of the IOC decision. "The approach taken and the criteria set forward will inevitably lead to a lack of harmonization, potential challenges and lesser protection for clean athletes,” WADA Director General Olivier Niggli said. He also questioned why the IOC had not allowed Russian whistleblower Yulia Stepanova to run as an independent athlete in Rio. "Ms. Stepanova was instrumental in courageously exposing the single biggest doping scandal of all time,” Niggli said. “WADA is very concerned by the message that this sends whistleblowers for the future."
Evidence from the McLaren report had also been sent to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), WADA said. The IPC will make its own decision on whether to permit Russian athletes in the Paralympics. It has already started suspension proceedings against Russia following the McLaren report. Responding to IOC calls that the agency review the anti-doping system, WADA said it was fully committed to further strengthening system. It also confirmed professor Richard McLaren would continue his investigative work into doping and "identify athletes that might have benefited from manipulation of the doping control process to conceal positive doping tests".
WADA 'disappointed' by IOC decision on Russia
"Due to a variety of problems in the Village, including gas, electricity and plumbing, I have decided that no Australian Team member will move into our allocated building," delegation head Kitty Chiller said on Sunday. It is the first time the Olympics have been held in South America. Chiller cited problems including "blocked toilets, leaking pipes and exposed wiring." Some Village apartments had water running down the walls and "a strong smell of gas," while stairwells were unlit and floors were in need of a thorough clean, she said. The first Australian athletes to arrive in Rio were due to move into the Village on July 21 but have instead been living in nearby hotels. "We will stick to our plan of no athletes staying in the Village for next 2 days," Chiller said later on Sunday. "I am reasonably confident we will be able to enter the Village on Wednesday."
Australia, which finished eighth in the medals table four years ago, is to bring 410 athletes for the games which start on Aug. 5. Rio de Janeiro officials referred to "teething troubles" and promised that crews "will be working 24 hours a day until the issues are resolved." "Athletes that are arriving in the Village and whose accommodation is not finished will be placed in the best available accommodation in other buildings," said a statement from organizers. "We will be working hard to ensure that the ongoing works do not disturb their preparations for the Games – preparations that will be taking place in fully checked, top quality training venues. We regret any inconvenience that this may cause and we greatly appreciate the understanding of the National Olympic Committees at this time." Chiller said she had raised concerns on a daily basis with the organizers and the International Olympic Committee.
Extra maintenance staff and more than 1,000 cleaners were engaged to fix the problems and clean the Village, Chiller said, but the faults, particularly with plumbing, were not resolved. Such problems are not uncommon in Brazil where narrow pipes and poor plumbing mean residents throw toilet paper in bins rather than flush it away. Australian team staff are continuing to set up for the arrival of athletes and for those coming in the next three days alternative accommodation has been arranged. But while Chiller said the New Zealand and Great Britain teams had experienced similar problems, officials from Team GB distanced themselves from the controversy and Rio officials said more than 200 athletes from other nations moved into the village on Sunday without complaint. "We are confident that our accommodation is ready to receive athletes and will be to the highest standards within the Village," Team GB Communications Director Scott Field said in a statement. "Whilst we have encountered some maintenance difficulties, this is not uncommon with new build structures of this type and we have been working hard to overcome them."
Local media have reported that some team delegations have sought to hire their own maintenance crews to make their quarters suitable. There have been complaints before other big spectacles in Brazil, such as the 2014 World Cup where stadium crews were still wielding paintbrushes and screwdrivers minutes before kickoff. Chiller has already demanded a review of security procedures after a Paraolympic sailor and another team official were robbed at gunpoint in June. Tens of thousands of troops and law enforcement officials spread out across the city on Sunday in a show of force. Rio last month declared a state of financial emergency to help fulfill obligations for public services during the Olympics.
Australians stay away from Village citing blocked toilets, exposed wiring
The only Russian due to compete in the Olympic athletics has been banned. The IAAF has put a blanket ban on the Russia team but Darya Klishina had been cleared for Rio as the governing body was satisfied she was not doping. However, the IAAF has now revoked the long jumper's eligibility based on new - but unspecified - information. The 25-year-old insisted: "I am a clean athlete", and said she would appeal against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Russian track and field athletes were banned en masse from the Olympics following claims the country ran a state-sponsored doping programme. "I have proved that [I am clean] already many times and beyond any doubt," Klishina wrote on her Facebook page. "I am falling victim to those who created a system of manipulating our beautiful sport and is guilty of using it for political purposes. "I will take every possible effort to protect my clean image."
Klishina had been cleared to compete as her drugs-testing record was established in the United States, where she is based, rather than in Russia. She was scheduled to compete in the long jump, which begins on Tuesday. Russian Olympic chief Alexander Zhukov, quoted by Russian news agencies, said the IAAF's last-minute suspension of the country's only track and field athlete in Rio was "a cynical mockery".
Rio Olympics 2016: Russia's Darya Klishina banned by IAAF
At least 30 sports, including football, covered up samples, the report says. "It was a cover-up that evolved from uncontrolled chaos to an institutionalised and disciplined medal-winning conspiracy," said the report's author, Richard McLaren. Lawyer McLaren said London 2012 was "corrupted on an unprecedented scale". The report also implicates medallists at the 2013 World Athletics Championships in Moscow, and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. According to the report, salt and coffee were used to manipulate Russian samples.
The report added the system was refined over the course of the 2012 Olympics, 2013 Worlds and Winter Olympics to protect likely Russian medal winners. Russia won 72 medals at the London Games, 21 of which were gold, and 33 medals at Sochi, 13 of which were gold. McLaren's second report added depth and supporting evidence to the initial findings published in July - that Russia operated a state-sponsored doping programme.
That first report was met with denials from Russia and calls for more proof from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Writing in his latest report, McLaren says: "The desire to win medals superseded their collective moral and ethical compass and Olympic values of fair play." He said international sports competitions had been "unknowingly hijacked by the Russians" and sports fans have been "deceived" for years. "It is time that stops," he added.
In a statement, Russia's sports ministry said it would examine the report but insisted on "the absence of a state programme of support for doping sport". It said it would "continue to fight doping from a position of zero tolerance". Russian MP Dmitry Svishchev, who is also the head of Russia's Curling Federation, was quoted by Ria Novosti news agency as saying: "This is what we expected. There's nothing new, only empty allegations against all of us. If you are Russian, you'll get accused of every single sin." When asked for a reaction to those comments, McLaren said: "I would say read the report. Its findings are not challengeable. He is reacting in a vacuum because he has not read the report."
The new report also found:
If you think Russia is the only country guilty of this....I have a bridge to sell you.
Only idiots believe the rest of the sporting world is lily white innocent.
Please!
A report on 9 December claimed more than 1,000 Russians benefited from a doping cover-up between 2011 and 2015. In interviews with the New York Times, officials acknowledged the programme but denied it was state-sponsored. "It was an institutional conspiracy," said Anna Antseliovich, acting director general of Russia's anti-doping agency.
Vitaly Smirnov, the 81-year-old who has been a leading sports official since the Soviet era and who has been appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin to reform the anti-doping system, told the New York Times: "I don't want to speak for the people responsible. "From my point of view, as a former minister of sport, president of Olympic committee - we made a lot of mistakes." Smirnov also suggested the leaks made by the Fancy Bears - a group of hackers who have released the medical records of several athletes from around the world - showed Russia had not been competing on a level playing field.
Corruption on an 'unprecedented scale'
In July, an investigation commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) said Russia's sports ministry "directed, controlled and oversaw" manipulation of urine samples provided by its athletes. A second Wada report from Canadian law professor and sports lawyer Dr Richard McLaren said the London 2012 Olympics was "corrupted on an unprecedented scale". According to McLaren's report, salt and coffee were used to manipulate Russian samples and the system was refined over the course of the London 2012 Olympics, 2013 Worlds in Moscow and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi to protect likely Russian medal winners.
Russia won 72 medals at the London Games, 21 of which were gold, and 33 medals at Sochi, 13 of which were gold. Russian sports officials had previously denied the existence of any doping operation, even as the International Olympic Committee opened disciplinary proceedings against several Russian athletes, while the country also lost the hosting rights to a number of international events. Russia's athletics team is banned from competition by the International Association of Athletics Federation.
Russian doping: Officials admit to existence of doping programme
Granny says, "Dat's right - dem Russians are dopers...
Russian doping: Officials admit to existence of doping programme
Wed, 28 Dec 2016 - Russian officials admit for the first time to the existence of a wide-ranging doping programme, but say it was not state-sponsored.
A report on 9 December claimed more than 1,000 Russians benefited from a doping cover-up between 2011 and 2015. In interviews with the New York Times, officials acknowledged the programme but denied it was state-sponsored. "It was an institutional conspiracy," said Anna Antseliovich, acting director general of Russia's anti-doping agency.
Vitaly Smirnov, the 81-year-old who has been a leading sports official since the Soviet era and who has been appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin to reform the anti-doping system, told the New York Times: "I don't want to speak for the people responsible. "From my point of view, as a former minister of sport, president of Olympic committee - we made a lot of mistakes." Smirnov also suggested the leaks made by the Fancy Bears - a group of hackers who have released the medical records of several athletes from around the world - showed Russia had not been competing on a level playing field.
Corruption on an 'unprecedented scale'
In July, an investigation commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) said Russia's sports ministry "directed, controlled and oversaw" manipulation of urine samples provided by its athletes. A second Wada report from Canadian law professor and sports lawyer Dr Richard McLaren said the London 2012 Olympics was "corrupted on an unprecedented scale". According to McLaren's report, salt and coffee were used to manipulate Russian samples and the system was refined over the course of the London 2012 Olympics, 2013 Worlds in Moscow and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi to protect likely Russian medal winners.
Russia won 72 medals at the London Games, 21 of which were gold, and 33 medals at Sochi, 13 of which were gold. Russian sports officials had previously denied the existence of any doping operation, even as the International Olympic Committee opened disciplinary proceedings against several Russian athletes, while the country also lost the hosting rights to a number of international events. Russia's athletics team is banned from competition by the International Association of Athletics Federation.
Russian doping: Officials admit to existence of doping programme
The Swiss-based court said there was insufficient evidence to show that certain Russian athletes had broken anti-doping rules. In December, the International Olympic Committee banned the entire Russian Olympic team -- preventing them from competing under their national flag, instead requiring them compete neutrally as "Olympic Athletes from Russia." Thursday's ruling means Russian athletes banned from participating in the Pyeongchang Games can now seek to participate. "Both CAS panels unanimously found that the evidence put forward by the IOC in relation to this matter did not have the same weight in each individual case," the court said in a statement. "In 28 cases, the evidence collected was found to be insufficient to establish that an anti-doping rule violation was committed by the athletes concerned. With respect to these 28 athletes, the appeals are upheld, the sanctions annulled and their individual results achieved in Sochi 2014 are reinstated."
The ruling reinstates the results for those athletes -- including 2014 Russian medalists Alexander Tretiakov and Elena Nikitina in skeleton; Alexander Legkov and Maksim Vylegzhanin in cross-country skiing; Albert Demchenko and Tatyana Ivanova in luge and Olga Fatkulina in speedskating. The court found that 11 other athletes would remain banned from the Games in Pyeongchang instead of a lifetime ban. "The mandate of the CAS Panels was not to determine generally whether there was an organized scheme allowing the manipulation of doping control samples in the Sochi laboratory but was strictly limited to dealing with 39 individual cases and to assess the evidence applicable to each athlete on an individual basis," the ruling states.
Russian athlete Sergey Tetyukhin holds the national flag of Russia as athletes enter the arena at the Opening Ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics. Thursday, a sporting court overturned a doping ban against 28 Russian athletes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin urged respect for the organizations involved in the investigation, TASS reported. "It is necessary to treat with respect not only the court's ruling, which evokes nothing but joy, proving our position that an overwhelming majority of our athletes are clean. But it is also necessary to treat with respect the opponent in the dispute. That is why, I believe that there should be no euphoria on our part and we need to treat this with calm," he said. "We are glad for those athletes who were supported by the sports arbitration panel but not all 100 percent of them were exonerated," Putin said. "There is still something we ourselves need to work on and this is absolutely clear from the viewpoint of improving our anti-doping program and policy. We will do this insistently with WADA [the World Anti-Doping Agency], together with the IOC and other international organizations."
It was not immediately known if the cleared athletes would seek to take part in this month's Winter Olympics. To be able to compete, they still need to be cleared by the IOC's Invitation Review Panel and approved to join the delegation of 169 Russian athletes who will compete as neutrals. "This may have a serious impact on the future fight against doping," the IOC said in a statement Thursday. "Therefore, the IOC will analyse the reasoned decisions very carefully once they are available and consider consequences, including an appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal." "With regard to the participation of athletes from Russia at the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018, the decision of the IOC Executive Board [from December] remains in place," the Olympic governing body continued. "It makes it clear that, since the Russian Olympic Committee is suspended, Russian athletes can participate in Pyeongchang only on invitation by the IOC."
Court overturns Olympic doping ban for 28 Russian athletes
