Russian Olympic Committee expects 200 to compete in SKorea
MOSCOW — Despite Russia’s ban from the upcoming Olympics, officials in the country still expect more than 200 of their athletes to compete at the Pyeongchang Games.
Under International Olympic Committee sanctions announced last week, all Russians must compete under the Olympic flag as “Olympic Athletes from Russia.”
“Potentially more than 200 athletes are in a position to qualify,” ROC president Alexander Zhukov said after the organization held a closed congress on Tuesday.
The decision to ban Russia came after the country was found to have run a sophisticated doping program at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. On Tuesday, the IOC disqualified the Russian women’s hockey team because six players were implicated in doping offences.