CAS scratched off exclusion and legitimized 28 Russian Olympians

The sports arbitration court in Lausanne announced the decision on the appeals of 39 detached Russian athletes.

The appeals filed did not concern the list of Russian athletes who could take part in the Olympics, but were disqualified by the IOC in connection with the report by Richard McLaren and the investigation of the commission by Dennis Oswald. All appeals were related to the removal of athletes performing at the Sochi Olympics. Those who were not allowed to play in the Games in Korea also filed complaints about the decision of the IOC commission, but the court refused to consider such cases in an accelerated manner, so the athletes from the "500 list" will apply to the civil courts of Switzerland, at the location of the IOC.

In total, Russian athletes have filed 42 appeals, three of which will be considered during the last month of winter: biathletes Olga Zaitseva, Olga Vilukhina and Jana Romana have already completed their sports careers and their request to reconsider the decision of the IOC only concerns the cancellation of the results of athletes at the Sochi Olympics.

CAS in its decision canceled the disqualification of 28 Russian athletes - this means that theoretically they can apply for participation in the OI-2018, although the CAS decision is just one of the criteria for admission of Russian athletes to the Olympics.

CAS found that in 28 cases the evidence collected is not sufficient to establish an anti-doping rule violation by the respective athletes. With regard to these athletes, the sanctions are canceled, and their individual results achieved at the Games in Sochi, are restored.

In other cases, it is established that the collected evidence is sufficient to establish an anti-doping rule violation, and athletes are declared not eligible to participate in the 2018 Games, instead of the lifelong Olympic ban.

Among the justified skiers Alexander Legkov, Nikita Kryukov and Alexander Bessmertnykh, skeletonists Sergei Chudinov, Alexander Tretyakov, skaters Olga Fatkulina, Ivan Skobrev, sleighman Albert Demchenko.