Russia banned from using name and flag at next two Olympics
Russia has been banned from using its name flag, and anthem at the next two Olympics or at any world championships for the next two years.
But Russian athletes and teams will still be allowed to compete at next year’s Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. They will also be able to compete at the world championships including the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. But that is if they are not implicated in doping or covering up positive tests.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport’s handed down the ruling on Thursday. It also blocked Russia from bidding to host major sporting events for two years.
The punishments are less than the four-year ban the World Anti-Doping Agency had proposed.
But Russia did get a small win though. The name “Russia” can be retained on uniforms if the words “Neutral Athlete” or “Neutral Team” have equal prominence, the court said.
Russian state authorities were accused of tampering with a database from the Moscow testing laboratory before handing it over to WADA investigators last year. It contained likely evidence to prosecute long-standing doping violations.
