No Russian Flag at Closing Ceremony

(ATR) The ROC remains suspended by the IOC but will be reinstated if no more doping violations from PyeongChang.

Compartir
Compartir articulo
infobae

(ATR) There will be no Russian participation at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony.

The IOC unanimously upheld its ongoing suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, after two anti-doping rule violations marred good behavior by the Olympic Athletes from Russia team. The IOC did vote to lift the suspension of the ROC immediately on the conclusion of the anti-doping testing at PyeongChang, pending no further positive tests.

Quorum for the meeting was reached by having 52 out of a possible 97 members present in PyeongChang for a Session.

President Thomas Bach said today that the decision on Russian reinstatement would come from the executive board after hearing from the IOC Session on the matter. The board met for almost four hours yesterday after hearing from the OAR Implementation Group and could not come to an agreement.

OAR IG chair Nicole Hoevertsz offered a report to the session and recommendation that Russia not be allowed to participate under its own flag. Hoevertsz said the two anti-doping rule violations caused "significant concern" for the panel, as well as challenges against the IOC decision in Russia.

Bach echoed the implementation group’s recommendation saying the board "would have considered lifting the suspension because the OAR delegation as such respected the decision of the IOC Executive Board" if it were not for the doping violations.

"Therefore, no delegation of the ROC will have taken part in these Olympic Winter Games," Bach said.

"This was hugely disappointing and, in addition to other considerations, prevented the IOC from even considering lifting the suspension for the closing ceremony. Subject to the continued compliance with the IOC executive board decision on Dec. 5, 2017 the suspension of the ROC is considered to be lifted once the Doping Free Sport Unit has confirmed that there is no additional Anti-Doping Rule Violation by members of the OAR delegation."

Input from the IOC Session was largely supportive of the Executive Board’s recommendation, but multiple members brought up alternatives to hastily lifting the suspension once all anti-doping tests were complete.

Tricia Smith from Canada and Barry Maister from New Zealand questioned if it was in the IOC’s best interest to reinstate Russia so quickly, and that a more concrete solution should be codified.

"I still have a huge concern that all most vetted and monitored and watched group of athletes we still have two that have cheated," Maister said. "There is more work to do in the second phase to delay the reinstatement, I’m not sure if the [board’s] second statement is enough, I think there needs to be a process in place for reinstatement."

Hoevertsz said that the IOC "[has] to draw a line and look to the future," with regards to Russia. She said that the group wanted to reinstate Russia, but the circumstances surrounding the team made that "not possible".

"I believe with that we bring this story to an end and look forward," Hoevertsz said. "It is never going to be business as usual in the world of sport and Russia."

Numerous IOC members spoke in support of the executive’s decision including Russian Shamil Tarpischev and former Vice President John Coates. Coates referenced "multiple apologies" from Russian officials over the current predicament, and echoed the fact that the two doping violations appeared to be isolated cases.

"Russia as a country indeed complied with all the conditions set out in the condition dated 5th of December, and the two doping cases are accounted by the lack of cultural education," Tarpischev said to the IOC members. "We believe this should be the end of this problem and pave the way for a new way in our sport."

Following the period for comment by members, the IOC Executive Board took a short break to consider the suggestions by Smith and Maister. The board returned with a ruling to keep its recommendation the same and it was unanimously approved by the members.

Questions now remain on when in fact the final doping violations would be tested. More importantly, the IOC did not address what would happen should a violation be found during the mandatory retesting. Samples from the 2018 Olympics will be stored for a decade, when they will be tested under more advanced measures to determine if the laboratory missed any anti-doping rule violations.

Written by Aaron Bauerin PyeongChang

25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.

Recent Articles

The Friendship Games organized against Russia against the IOC will have the participation of 70 countries

The World Friendship Games (WFG) will feature competitions in 36 sports and will award 283 medals to the winners. The Russian Government announced that a press conference will soon be held to present them with more details and clarified that the invitations to participate are addressed to athletes and not to countries.
The Friendship Games organized against Russia against the IOC will have the participation of 70 countries

Clues about the pebetero: it will not be in the stadium but in the middle of Paris and in public view

From France, information indicates that the site chosen for the Olympic fire to be lit since July 26 would be the emblematic Tuileries Garden. Official sources did not confirm the fact, but they recognize the idea that it is located in the heart of Paris and in full view of fans.
Clues about the pebetero: it will not be in the stadium but in the middle of Paris and in public view

Nearly a thousand boats will welcome the torch in France

The parade in the Mediterranean will be minutes before disembarkation at the Old Port of Marseille; they must meet certain requirements and apply to participate.
Nearly a thousand boats will welcome the torch in France

France says it will “be ready” to ensure safety at the Olympic Games while raising the alert level

The attack in Moscow threatened the whole of Europe and security in Paris is once again in the spotlight, just four months after the parade of delegations on the Seine River.
France says it will “be ready” to ensure safety at the Olympic Games while raising the alert level

Will Paris 2024 have its red carpet?

Although all the expectations for July 26 are set on an opening ceremony that promises to be extraordinary, it is likely that, in the hour before the party, the world will attend a parade of luminaries from sports, arts and entertainment.
Will Paris 2024 have its red carpet?