The Ad Hoc Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeal filed by 47 Russian athletes and coaches against the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) refusing to invite them to participate in the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
The ROC regrets the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to bar 47 Russian athletes from the PyeongChang Olympics and many our strongest athletes will not participate.
Олимпийский комитет России выражает крайнее сожаление в связи с тем, что состав нашей команды на нынешних Играх не будет увеличен, и многие наши сильнейшие спортсмены не смогут принять в них участия. Их непричастность к каким-либо нарушениям антидопинговых правил была подтверждена решением CAS, а также результатами постоянного и усиленного допинг-контроля на протяжении многих лет
They have not been engaged in doping, as proved by the CAS decision and numerous doping tests within many years.
Athletes and the world sports community still don’t know why these athletes were not invited. Among them were Olympic biathlon champion Anton Shipulin, two-time world cross-country skiing champion Sergey Ustiugov and six-time Olympic champion Viktor Ahn.
Absence of some Russian clean athletes does not only affect fans interest, but also mines the foundations of equality for all those who won dozens of medals within their careers in fair fight.
