International Olympic Committee lifts ban on Russia over state-sponsored doping
The International Olympic Committee has lifted a ban against Russia after it was barred from this month's PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games over state-sponsored doping. "The rights of the Russian Olympic Committee have been fully restored," said Committee President, Alexander Zhukov. IOC's letter to Russia confirmed no other Russian Olympic athletes tested positive for doping, following two positive drug-tests at PyeongChang Games. Here's more.
Latest doping tests against Russian athletes negative
"All of the doping tests that were conducted on our athletes in the last days of the Olympics were negative," Zhukov said. The IOC decided that in such an event the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee would be lifted.
IOC's decision, very important to us: Zhukov
Russia was banned on 5 December from taking part in the 2018 Olympics following revelations of widespread doping, though 168 athletes were deemed "clean" and were cleared to go to PyeongChang to compete under the Olympic flag. The time since the ban was "probably some of the most difficult months in the history of Russian sports and the Olympic movement in Russia," Zhukov said.
Russian athletes praised for competing in difficult conditions
Vice President of the Russian Olympic Committee, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, stated: "We are very relieved. A lot of what we did in the last three months, of course, will not be made public." He added, "The main thing is that our athletes...had the opportunity to represent...our country (in Korea)," despite the team's neutral status as "Olympic Athletes from Russia."
Russian doping cases at 2018 Winter Olympics
Two Russians, curler Alexander Krushelnitsky and bobsledder Nadezhda Sergeyeva, were kicked out of the Winter Olympics after their doping tests were revealed to be positive, with Krushelnitsky being stripped of his bronze medal. The scandal meant that the Olympic team from Russia could not use national colors or flag for the closing ceremony in PyeongChang as originally hoped.
Russia blames doping cases on negligence; Krushelnitsky denies knowingly doping
Moscow blamed the two cases on "negligence rather than malicious intent," while Krushelnitsky denied knowingly doping. Russia's Olympic ban followed the uncovering of a doping conspiracy where tainted urine samples were switched with clean ones. The government has denied any state involvement in the plot but a top sports official Vitaly Mutko, currently a deputy prime minister, was suspended by the IOC for life.
IOC ban lifting doesn't affect suspension of Russia's anti-doping agency
Russia's reinstatement in IOC doesn't affect the suspended status of its RUSADA national anti-doping agency with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which said Russia remains non-compliant, citing "proven systemic manipulation of the doping control process." WADA previously criticized the decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which overturned Olympic life bans on 28 Russians accused of doping, though they didn't compete in PyeongChang.
Work to reinstate RUSADA must be done quickly: Zhukov
"Unfortunately, so far our relationship with WADA, the reinstatement of status of RUSADA, is not complete," Zhukov said. "There is still a lot of work to be done which is likely to be as difficult as the work to reinstate the Russian Olympic Committee. We must do this as quickly as possible to create a comprehensive system to fight doping in Russia," he added.
