Olympics Organizers Ready to Take In Banned Russian Athletes If Acquitted by CAS

17:00 GMT, 31 January 2018

PYEONGCHANG (Sputnik) - The Organizing Committee for the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in South Korea is ready to accommodate more athletes from Russia if the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) recognizes their eligibility to participate in the sporting event, the Committee's press service told Sputnik Wednesday.

Sputnik

When asked whether the organizers of the Olympics would be ready if the number of Russian athletes increased following legal proceedings, the press service said it was following the situation and working in close cooperation with the International Olympics Committee (IOC). The press service noted that the Organizing Committee was ready for any development.

The court said earlier in the day it would announce on Thursday the decisions rendered in relation to 39 out of 42 Russian athletes.

IOC Concerned About Integrity of Doping Sample Bottles Ahead of 2018 Olympics

30 January 2018, 17:45 GMT

As many as 42 Russian athletes have challenged in the CAS the decisions taken by the IOC Disciplinary Commission in relation to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Russia's Sochi. The athletes were disqualified from the sporting events, in which they participated in Sochi, and banned from participation in all subsequent editions of the Olympic Games.

On December 5, the IOC Executive Board suspended the Russian Olympic Committee over the alleged manipulation of anti-doping rules.

"Clean" Russian athletes are allowed to participate in the Games under the Olympic flag, but the IOC will make the final decision on the list of athletes who will be allowed to attend the games. At the moment, 169 athletes from Russia are allowed to participate in the Olympics.