66 days before the opening of the PyeongChang 2018 Games, the IOC took decisive action. Very decisive. Its executive board closed the door on one of the major countries in the sports movement for the upcoming Olympic fortnight.
It suspended Russia from the PyeongChang Winter Games. Indeed, never before had an entire country been excluded from the Games due to doping violations.
It made the decision that the whole world was anticipating, but which it hadn’t dared to make for the Rio 2016 Games.
The question remains: how will Russia react?
Thomas Bach, the president of the IOC, explained the decision. “This is an unprecedented attack on the integrity of the Olympic Games and sport,” he justified, referring to the manipulation of anti-doping test samples orchestrated by the Russians at the Sochi 2014 Games. “The executive board has imposed sanctions proportionate to the systemic manipulation while protecting clean athletes.”
Following in the footsteps of the IAAF, the IOC announced that some Russian athletes might be allowed to participate in the next Winter Games. They must compete under neutrality. They will march under the banner “Olympic Athlete from Russia.”
More determined than ever, the IOC executive board also swept along with it the Russian Olympic movement and its most well-known leaders.
The IOC announced the following sanctions:
The suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee with immediate effect.
The lifetime ban from the Olympic Games of former Sports Minister, Vitaly Mutko, now the second in command in the government, and his deputy, Yuri Nagornykh.
The suspension of the president of the Russian Olympic Committee, Alexander Zhukov, from his position as an IOC member.
The suspension of the former head of the Sochi 2014 Games, Dmitry Chernyshenko, from his role as a member of the coordination commission for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games.
Finally, the IOC announced it would demand reimbursement from Russia for the investigation costs and a contribution to funding the new Independent Testing Authority, amounting to 15 million dollars.
