Five Russian athletes have been banned from the Olympics for life following series of investigations by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) into the country’s alleged sponsored doping scandal.
The IOC announced the ban on the Russians based on findings of the McLaren report on November 1.
Sergei Chudinov, Aleksei Negodailo, Dmitry Trunenkov, Yana Romanova and Olga Vilukhina are the latest Russian athletes to get IOC ban.
Negodailo and Trunenkov were members of Russia’s four-man Bobsleigh team that won gold at Sochi 2014.
Romanova and Vilukhina won silver in the Biathlon relay, while Vilukhina won silver in the 7.5km event.
The McLaren report said Russian athletes benefited from a state sponsored doping programme between 2011 and 2015, prior to the winter games in Rio.
In explaining its decision to punish Alexander Legkov, one of two Russian skiers on November 1, the IOC said the athlete had “sought to argue that no evidence could be drawn from the McLaren report” but the report however had “come to a different conclusion”.
The IOC stated that the authority of Professor Richard McLaren, author of the report, was “unquestionable” adding that it “can and will rely” on its findings.
At present, 19 Russian athletes have been ban from the Olympics for life dating from November 1.
Following previous calls for Russian athletes to be banned from the previous Olympic Games, the latest bans will see the IOC prepare to rule on whether Russia will be permitted to compete at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, which begins on February 9.
Meanwhile, Russia has planned to boycott the February Winter Olympics following the recent bans on Russian athletes.
President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Sir Craig Reedie, has said a Russian boycott of the Winter Olympics would “damage athletes”.
“Boycotts, in my view, never really work. All they do is damage athletes. The Olympic movement was plagued with boycotts 20, 25 years ago and it has got over that issue. I hope that people come and compete.”
Russian Sochi Olympians banned
Gold medallists
Alexander Legkov, 50km cross country
Aleksei Negodailo, four-man bobsleigh
Aleksandr Tretiakov, skeleton
Dmitry Trunenkov, four-man bobsleigh
Aleksandr Zubkov, two-man and four-man bobsleigh
Silver medallists
Olga Fatkulina, 500m Speed skating
Yana Romanova, Biathlon relay
Olga Vilukhina, Biathlon relay and 7.5km biathlon
Maksim Vylegzhanin, 50km Cross country
Men’s 4x10km Cross country
Men’s team Sprint classic cross country
Bronze medallists
Elena Nikitina, Women’s skeleton
Others are:
Evgeniy Belov, Cross country
Yuliia Ivanova, Cross country
Sergei Chudinov, Skeleton
Alexey Petukhov, Cross country
Evgeniya Shapovalova, Cross country
Maria Orlova, Skeleton
Olga Potylitsyna, Skeleton
Olga Stulneva, Bobsleigh
Alexander Rumyantsev, Speed skater
