SIDELINED

Dozens of Russian Athletes Lose Last-Minute Appeal Against Olympic Ban

A court ruled that the International Olympic Committee’s doping ban was an “eligibility decision” rather than a “sanction.”

Russia’s last-ditch effort to send 45 banned athletes to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang failed ahead of Friday’s Opening Ceremony, as a court dismissed an appeal arguing that the ban was discriminatory. The Court of Arbitration of Sport sided with the International Olympic Committee, which had banned Russian athletes after a massive doping scandal was uncovered at the Sochi Games in 2014. While Russia had argued that its athletes were unfairly excluded, the CAS on Friday said the ban “could not be described as a sanction but rather as an eligibility decision.” The process undertaken to decide which Russian athletes could compete was not done in a “discriminatory, arbitrary, or unfair manner,” the court concluded. At least 169 Russian athletes will be allowed to compete as independents, without the Russian flag, officials, or an anthem. But some of the country’s best-known Olympians will be barred from the Games, including short-track speedskater Viktor Ahn, a six-time gold medalist, and cross-country skiing gold medalist Alexander Legkov.