IOC bans Russia from 2018 Winter Olympics

In a historic first, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday banned Russian NOC and created a path for clean individual athletes to compete in PyeongChang Winter Games next year under the Olympic flag.

While the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) with immediate effect, individual Russian athletes under strict conditions were invited for participation to the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) took an historic decision on Tuesday as it banned Russian NOC and created a path for clean individual athletes to compete in PyeongChang Winter Games next year under the Olympic flag.

The IOC executive board studied and discussed the findings of the commission, which looked into the issue of systematic manipulation of the Anti-doping system in Russia.

The report was based on the findings during the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014.

The conclusions of the Schmid Report, on both factual and legal aspects, confirmed “the systemic manipulation of the anti-doping rules and system in Russia, through the Disappearing Positive Methodology and during the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, as well as the various levels of administrative, legal and contractual responsibility, resulting from the failure to respect the respective obligations of the various entities involved”.

Russian Deputy PM Vitaly Mutko given Olympic life ban Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko was on Tuesday given a lifetime Olympic ban over his involvement in Russian doping, the International Olympic Committee announced. Mutko, who was banned from the Rio 2016 Games, was implicated in the World Anti-Doping Agency-commissioned McLaren report as the then Russian Sports Minister. In a statement, the IOC announced the decision "to exclude the then Minister of Sport, Mr Vitaly Mutko, and his then Deputy Minister, Mr. Yuri Nagornykh, from any participation in all future Olympic Games". Mutko also heads Russia's 2018 World Cup organising committee.  -- AFP

As a consequence, the Schmid Commission recommended that the IOC must take the appropriate measures that should be strong enough to effectively sanction the existence of a systemic manipulation of the anti-doping rules and system in Russia.

There, however, was enough ways to protect the rights of the individual Russian clean athletes.

While the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) with immediate effect, individual Russian athletes under strict conditions were invited for participation to the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018. These invited athletes will participate, be it in individual or team competitions, under the name “Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR)”. They will compete with a uniform bearing this name and under the Olympic Flag. The Olympic Anthem will be played in any ceremony.