Russia could lose skiing medals from the 2014 Winter Olympic Games
According to Iltalehti.fi, Alexander Legkov, Maxim Vylegzhanin and four other Russian skiers who were temporarily suspended from competition on the basis of the report of the Head of WADA Independent Commission, Richard McLaren, could lose their medals. The edition reported that the final decision on the matter could be announced in January.
On the 23rd of December, the International Olympic Committee initiated disciplinary cases against 28 Russian athletes who participated in the Sochi Olympic Games. Following the results of publication, cross-country skiers Alexander Legkov, Evgeniy Belov, Maxim Vylegzhanin, Alexey Petukhov, Julia Ivanova and Yevgeniya Shapovalova were suspended from competition.
In addition, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation disqualified four skeleton racers: Aleksandr Tretyakov, Elena Nikitina, Maria Orlova and Olga Potylitsyna. In his New Year’s address, the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, announced new sanctions against Russia. The official outlined the measures that will be taken on the results of a shocking report about doping in the Russian Federation.
The first part of the report of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was published on July 18. A few dozen athletes including Paralympians were accused of fraud in this part of report. As a result, Russian Olympic athletics and weightlifting teams were suspended from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the whole Russian Paralympic team missed the competitions.
McLaren published the second part of the report on December 9. The WADA’s independent investigation revealed that more than a thousand Russian athletes in 30 sports are involved in doping or concealment of positive samples. According to the document, 12 Russian athletes who won medals in the Sochi Winter Olympic Games, were involved in replacement of samples.