An eleventh-hour attempt by dozens of Russian athletes to join the PyeongChang Winter Olympics has failed.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said Friday it had dismissed appeals by 47 Russian athletes who had asked it to overturn a decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) not to invite them to the Pyeongchang Games.
In a statement, the IOC said it welcomed the CAS decision, “which supports the fight against doping and brings clarity for all athletes.”
Russia is banned from competing in the Games over doping allegations, but some athletes were invited to compete after proving they were clean.
The court said that decision “was designed to balance the IOC’s interest in the global fight against doping and the interests of individual athletes from Russia,” and ruled it was not carried out in a “discriminatory, arbitrary or unfair manner.”
Widespread ban
Russia was banned from taking part in the Games in December after the IOC found the country had engaged in “systemic manipulation” of anti-doping rules, though Russian athletes who could prove they were clean were “invited” to compete under the name “Olympic Athlete from Russia” (OAR).
They will wear a uniform with that name on it, and the Olympic anthem will be played at any medal ceremonies for Russian athletes.
But dozens of Russian athletes who had hoped to compete under the neutral flag were deemed ineligible by the world Olympic body.
“The list on which the Invitation Review Panel (IRP) based its considerations (on) covers a wide range of information,” said Valérie Fourneyron, the Chair of the International Testing Agency (ITA).
“It includes, for example, evidence of suspicious Steroid Profile values, DNA inconsistencies and irregularities of the Athlete Biological Passport, as well as evidence provided necessarily need to be transmitted to the athletes.”
The IOC confirmed that only athletes who have “fulfilled the pre-games testing requirements,” including the IRP’s criteria, “as well as the required reanalysis from stored samples,” would be allowed to compete at the Games.