Although at this time none of the sports that are part of the Olympic Winter Games are governed under the definition of what the sport of athletics is, the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to bar Russian athletes that had been reinstated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) transcends sports.
In this case, the IOC is overturning a decision made by the CAS to allow 28 Russian athletes to compete in Pyeongchang.
Will the action create a precedent going forward? The CAS has a history of making decisions that are controversial. Although it is important to have an arbitrator, perhaps this action will take some of the power from the CAS?
From Inside the Games
All Russian athletes who had their doping sanctions overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last week remain barred from Pyeongchang 2018, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have announced here today.
Fifteen of the 28 athletes to be cleared were hoping to participate in the “Olympic Athletes from Russia” team: 13 as active athletes and two as coaches.
“While the Invitation Review Panel noted the CAS’s decision of February 1, 2018, it also noted that the full reasoning for these decisions had not been made public,” the IOC said today.
“The Panel highlighted that its role, according to the IOC Executive Board decision of 5 December 2017, was not to establish ADRVs (Anti-Doping Rule Violations), but to confirm that athletes can be considered clean for a potential OAR invitation to the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018.
“Therefore, the Panel unanimously recommended that the IOC not extend an invitation to the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018 to the 15 individuals requested by the suspended ROC (Russian Olympic Committee).”
It is likely this decision will be appealed.
