The Russian Olympic Committee agreed on Tuesday to "support its athletes who choose to compete" at PyeongChang 2018 as neutrals following a ban on the Russian national team, according to Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber of REUTERS. The IOC last week banned Russia from the Games, but it "left the door open for Russian athletes with a clean history of non-doping to be invited to compete as neutrals" under an Olympic flag, not a Russian one. The ROC agreed on its position at a meeting on Tuesday that was attended by sporting figures including the national men’s hockey team, figure skaters, speed skaters and the presidents of winter sports federations. ROC President Alexander Zhukov said, "All the participants were of the same opinion -- our sportsmen need to go to Korea, need to compete, achieve victory for the glory of Russia, for the glory of our motherland." Zhukov said that Russia "would do its best to support Russian athletes competing under a neutral flag and hold serious talks with the IOC in the near future" to discuss the problems and practicalities of the arrangement (REUTERS, 12/12).
UNFINISHED BUSINESS: The BBC reported Zhukov insisted the body was "in no way involved" in doping but had "taken the hit" so that athletes could "achieve their Olympic dream." Zhukov: "It's hard to say how many athletes will be going because the process still hasn't finished, but according to our data over 200 Russian athletes still hold the licenses. The IOC will be the ones who determine who goes and who doesn't" (BBC, 12/12). REUTERS' Denis Pinchuk reported the Kremlin supports the ROC's decision to allow Russian athletes who have chosen to compete under a neutral flag at the Olympics, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said (REUTERS, 12/12).
NO DEAL: The AP's James Ellingworth reported the ROC will "submit rosters of its preferred athletes to the IOC, which will then issue invitations to Russian competitors." Zhukov said, "I think the IOC will make sure that the strongest Russian athletes get the invitations, so that, for example, our hockey team consists of the best players." Russian athletes going to PyeongChang "still need to pass a screening from an IOC committee which will examine their history of drug testing." Zhukov "rejected any suggestion he had made a deal with the IOC to avoid harsher sanctions." He said, "It's unacceptable to take away an athlete's right to represent his country. In my view, it breaks not only the Olympic charter, but human rights. So you really can't talk about a deal here" (AP, 12/12).
FURTHER SANCTIONS: USA TODAY's Tom Schad reported the IOC announced "another wave of sanctions" from the Oswald Commission on Tuesday, banning six Russian women's hockey players for anti-doping rule violations and "disqualifying the Russian women's hockey team" from the 2014 Olympics. Inna Dyubanok, Ekaterina Lebedeva, Ekaterina Pashkevich, Anna Shibanova, Galina Skiba and Ekaterina Smolentseva were all sanctioned by the IOC, "while a case opened against a seventh athlete was closed without punishment" (USA TODAY, 12/12). The BBC reported 31 Russians "have now been banned" since the IOC began investigating claims of doping at Sochi 2014 (BBC, 12/12).
