Russia relieved after Olympic doping ban shortened By Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber
Logo of Russia s Olympic Committee is seen on its building in Moscow
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Friday it regretted Russia was unable to avoid doping sanctions but some officials declared a small victory after sport’s highest court halved a ban on athletes competing at the Olympics under the Russian flag to two years.
The decision, announced by the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday, softened sanctions issued by global anti-doping authorities in response to Moscow intentionally providing it with doctored laboratory data that could have identified drug cheats, something it denies.
Swiss court rejects Russia s appeal against Olympic doping ban but halves its length
Russia s doping woes have snowballed since a 2015 report commissioned by WADA found evidence of mass doping among the country s track and field athletes.
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Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber / Reuters | 8:57 am, Dec. 17, 2020 ×
A view shows an installation displaying the logo of the Russian Olympic Committee after a conference held to appoint the new president of Russia s Athletics Federation (ARAF) in Moscow, Russia Nov. 30, 2020. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
MOSCOW, Dec. 17 (Reuters) A Swiss court on Thursday upheld doping sanctions that will prevent Russian athletes from competing at major international events under the country s flag, but halved the period of the ban to two years from four.
A Swiss court upheld doping sanctions that will prevent Russian athletes from competing at major international events under the country’s flag, but halved the period of the ban to two years from four.
The ruling on Thursday will leave Russian athletes without their flag and national anthem at next year’s Tokyo Olympics, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and at the 2022 football World Cup in Qatar.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had originally banned Russia from the world’s top sporting events for four years in December 2019, but the sanction could not be implemented until the end of the appeal process.
Russian anti-doping agency RUSADA said it was not fully satisfied with the decision. It seems that not all arguments presented by our lawyers were heard, Mikhail Bukhanov, the agency s acting head, said in a statement.
WADA President Witold Banka said the agency, which had imposed four-year sanctions, was disappointed the court had not endorsed all of its recommendations. These are still the strongest set of consequences ever imposed on any country for doping-related offences and the award clearly endorses the resolute, process-driven approach taken by WADA in dealing effectively with this case, he said. This sends a clear message that institutionalized cheating and concerted efforts to subvert the global anti-doping system will not be tolerated.
18 Dec 2020 / 02:36 H. Russia to miss flag at major events for two years WADA says disappointed not all sanctions upheld IOC to evaluate impact on Olympics Moscow embroiled in doping scandals since 2015 (Adds detail)
By Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber
MOSCOW, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Russian athletes will be barred from competing at major international events, including the Olympics, under the country s flag until 2022 after a Swiss court on Thursday upheld doping sanctions but halved the original four-year ban.
The ruling will leave Russian athletes without their flag and national anthem at next year s Tokyo Olympics, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and at the 2022 soccer World Cup in Qatar, a severe blow to Russian sport which has been tarnished in recent years by a string of doping scandals.