MOSCOW, December 3. /TASS/. Vitaly Smirnov, head of Russia’s Independent Public Anti-Doping Commission and honorary member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), will take part in an IOC Executive Board meeting on December 5, a source close to the Russian delegation told TASS on Sunday.
Earlier, the source told TASS that two-time Olympic champion figure skater Yevgeniya Medvedeva will also take part in the meeting. Apart from that, Russia will be represented by President of the Russian Olympic Committee Alexander Zhukov.
"Smirnov will speak at the Executive Board meeting," the source said.
The IOC Executive Board will meet in Switzerland’s Lausanne on December 5-6. It is expected to announce its decision about Russia’s participation in the 2018 Olympic Games in South Korea’s PyeongChang on December 5. The decision will be taken on the basis of reports from the IOC’s two commissions probing into alleged doping abuses in Russian sports.
In July 2016, the IOC set up two separate commissions to probe doping abuse allegations in Russian sports as well as alleged involvement of state officials in manipulations with performance enhancing drugs, particularly at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia’s Sochi.
The first of the two commissions is an Inquiry Commission, chaired by the former President of Switzerland, Samuel Schmid. The commission is looking into accusations set out in the McLaren report that alleges the existence of a supposed institutional conspiracy in Russia’s summer and winter sports, in which the country’s state officials were allegedly engaged in.
The second investigative body at the issue is a Disciplinary Commission, chaired by IOC Member Denis Oswald. This commission is tasked to address alleged doping uses and manipulation of samples concerning the Russian athletes, who participated in the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014.
The next Olympic Games will be held on February 9 through 25, 2018.