28 Russian Athletes Win Appeals of Doping Bans
" The sports court said it overturned the doping bans because "the evidence collected was found to be insufficient to establish
that an antidoping rule violation was committed by the athletes concerned." The court found that 11 of the athletes had broken those rules, and upheld the ban on their competing in Pyeongchang, but it ruled that they could compete in future Olympics. that Not being sanctioned does not automatically confer the privilege of an invitation.
In a move criticized by many in the global antidoping community, the International Olympic Committee ruled
that clean Russian individuals could compete in separate uniforms designating them as "Olympic athletes from Russia," should they satisfy a review panel.
1, 2018
The International Olympic Committee’s handling of Russia’s systemic doping program has been plunged into disarray after sport’s top
court overturned bans issued to 28 Russian athletes just days before the start of the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Alexander Zhukov said that We insisted from the very start
that our athletes are not involved in any doping schemes, and, of course, we are now just happy that their honest name has been reinstated by court and all their awards have been returned to them,
Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, described it is an "unprecedented attack on the integrity of the Olympic Games and sport." Rodchenkov, the whistle-blower, had alleged
that Russia had found a way to pry open supposedly tamper-proof drug-testing bottles and replace their contents without detection.
decision only emboldens cheaters, makes it harder for clean athletes to win
and provides yet another ill-gotten gain for the corrupt Russian doping system generally, and Putin specifically." Handling the fallout from the scandal has been a draining and damaging experience for the International Olympic Committee’s leadership.