IOC bans five more Russians for life over Sochi doping

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BERLIN (Reuters) – Five more Russian competitors from the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, including two gold medalists, have been banned for life over anti-doping rule violations, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Monday.

FILE PHOTO: Silver medalists Russia’s Olga Zaitseva, Yana Romanova, Ekaterina Shumilova and Olga Vilukhina (L-R) pose on the podium during the victory ceremony for the women’s biathlon 4 x 6km event at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics February 22, 2014. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

They include Dmitrii Trunenkov and Aleksei Negodailo, both members of the gold-medal winning four-man bobsleigh team, as well as biathlon relay silver medalists Yana Romanova and Olga Vilukhina, who also won another silver in the 7.5 km event.

The latest bans bring the total number of Russian athletes suspended from the Games for life to 19 this month, with the IOC annulling results following widespread doping and tampering with samples of Russian athletes during the Sochi Games.

The Olympic body is re-testing all Russian athletes’ samples from those Games following revelations by Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of Moscow’s discredited anti-doping laboratory, of a scheme to cover up home competitors’ positive samples.

The Sochi scandal is part of a broader doping affair that has led to the suspension of Russia’s anti-doping agency RUSADA, its athletics federation and Paralympic Committee.

The IOC has said it will decide during its executive board meeting next month on the participation of Russian competitors at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea in February.

Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Alison Williams and Ken Ferris

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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