IOC lifts doping ban on Russia: Moscow officials

TIL Desk Sports/ The International Olympic Committee has lifted a ban against Russia, Moscow officials said Wednesday, after the country was barred from the Pyeongchang games over state-sponsored doping. “The rights of the Russian Olympic Committee have been fully restored,” said the president of the Russian Olympic Committee, Alexander Zhukov.

Zhukov said Russia received a letter from the IOC Wednesday which confirms that no other Olympic athletes from Russia had tested positive for doping, following two positive Russian drug tests at this month’s Winter Games in Pyeongchang.

“All of the doping tests that were conducted on our athletes in the last days of the Olympics were negative,” Zhukov said. The IOC decided in a meeting Sunday that in such an event the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee would be lifted.

Russia was banned in December from taking part in the 2018 Olympics following revelations of widespread doping, though 168 athletes were deemed “clean” and were cleared to go to Pyeongchang to compete under the Olympic flag.