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Decision to uphold appeal of Russian athletes sends signal to IOC — Russian lawmaker

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled to uphold the appeals of 28 Russian athletes earlier banned for life from Olympics

BERLIN, February 2. /TASS/. The Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to annul or partially annul sanctions against Russian athletes sends a certain signal to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and shows that the Olympic movement is going through tough times, a senior Russian lawmaker told TASS on Thursday.

"I think that this signal was not intended at us in the first place, it was [intended for] the IOC," the deputy chairperson of the State Duma’s Foreign Affairs Committee and a three-time Olympic champion in figure skating, Irina Rodnina, said.

"The international Olympic movement is currently undergoing a period of certain difficulties, because the fair play principle was always important for athletes. But it seems to me that the IOC has failed to pass this test," Rodnina said.

"Many questions have arisen, and I believe that it all will lead to a situation in which conclusions regarding the IOC will have to be made: either they [the IOC] will do it themselves, or it will be done by other countries. The present situation clearly shows political [motivation] and inconsistency of actions," she added.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday ruled to uphold the appeals of 28 Russian athletes whom the International Olympic Committee (IOC) earlier banned for life from participating in the Olympic Games over accusations of breaching anti-doping rules at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.

The Russian athletes came under the IOC’s ban following a probe by the IOC commission under Denis Oswald, which retested the doping samples from the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.

The sanctions against them were annulled and their individual results achieved in Sochi 2014 were reinstated. Earlier reports said that in case of the CAS favorable decision these athletes might participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea’s PyeongChang on February 9-25.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport’s verdict does not mean that the 28 acquitted Russian athletes will be automatically granted access to the 2018 Winter Olympics, the International Olympic Committee said in a statement on Thursday.

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