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IOC bans Russia from participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics
by Joseph Earnest December 5, 2017
Newscast Media MOSCOW—The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics over allegations of state-sponsored doping but said that some Russian athletes would be allowed to compete "under strict conditions."
The IOC said in a December 5 statement that some Russian athletes who clear several strict anti-doping hurdles would be allowed to compete in the February games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, under a neutral uniform but that the Russian Olympic Committee would be barred from participation. The IOC’s executive board came to the decision after examining the findings and recommendations of a commission led by former Swiss President Samuel Schmid that has investigated the accusations of state-sponsored doping in Russia. How Russia will react is unclear at this point. There is speculation it could take the IOC decision and decide to send no athletes, clean or not, to the Games.
In the months leading up to Tuesday's decision, Russian President Vladimir Putin called any plans to have Russians compete under a neutral flag "degrading."
A 2016 report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) found widespread evidence of state-sponsored doping across many Olympic sports in Russia. The WADA report also found evidence of a cover-up and said Russian security agents were involved in swapping positive urine samples for clean ones at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. IOC President Thomas Bach said that the punitive measures targeting Russia came in response to"an unprecedented attack on the integrity of the Olympic Games and sport." Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a Facebook post following the announcement that Russia would persevere. "We can never be knocked down," Zakharova wrote. "Not by a world war, not by the collapse of the Soviet Union, not by sanctions. We take it and we survive." Add Comments >>
Source: Radio Free Europe
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