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Doping Officials Praise Olympics as Russia Ban Lasts Through Closing Ceremony

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on Monday welcomed the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) not to remove its ban on the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) for the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in South Korea’s Pyeongchang.
Sputnik

"The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) acknowledges the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC’s) decision today not to lift the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) for the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018," the statement read.

The suspension of the ROC is to be removed after the confirmation by the Free Sport Unit (DFSU) of the Global Association of International Sports Federations that there has been no additional violations of anti-doping regulations by members of the Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) delegation at the recent Olympics, the document continued.

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WADA also clarified that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) was not compliant with the agency's Code due to its failure to meet the criteria of the Roadmap to Compliance, imposed on it by WADA after the revelation of the alleged doping control manipulation in Russia.

IOC President Thomas Bach said on Sunday that two failed doping tests of Russian curler athlete Aleksandr Krushelnitckii and bobsledder Nadezhda Sergeeva were key reasons that influenced the organization’s decision not to reinstate the ROC before the end of the 2018 Games.

"[The ROC may be reinstated in the IOC] on Tuesday or Wednesday, when the check of our Olympians is completed. Then a decision will be made. Now they are waiting for the end of the check of skiers' and hockey players' tests, if there are no problems, then the decision to reinstate the membership of the Russian Olympic Committee will be made automatically. All [the rest] have already been checked, everything is clean," IOC member Shamil Tarpishchev told Sputnik on Monday.

Earlier that day, the IOC’s Olympic Athlete from Russia Implementation Group (OAR IG) recommended not to lift the ROC suspension for the Games closing ceremony, advising to remove the disqualification after the analysis of all doping samples of Russian athletes, who participated in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

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WADA declared RUSADA non-compliant with its code in November 2015 after an international agency’s commission revealed the alleged systematic doping violations in Russian athletics.

The doping scandal resulted in the ROC suspension in December 2017. In order to be restored, the ROC had to comply which a number of conditions, including payment of $15 million to the IOC. The ROC said it had paid the required sum last week.

Moreover, only Russian athletes invited by the IOC were able to participate in the 2018 Games under the neutral flag.

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