Michal Cizek, AFP | Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov, Alexey Chervotkin, Alexander Legkov and Evgeniy Belov celebrate their second place after the 4x7.5 km Relay Classic - Free event, FIS Cross-Country World Cup, on January 24, 2016, in Nove Mesto na Morave.
Russia’s cross country gold medallist Alexander Legkov and compatriot Evgeniy Belov were banned from the Olympics for life on Wednesday over doping at the Sochi 2014 Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said.
The two athletes were the first Russians to be sanctioned for anti-doping rule violations following an IOC investigation into allegations of widespread doping among Russians and sample tampering by lab and security officials to give them the edge.
Legkov won gold in the 50km and a silver medal in the 4x10km relay event. The IOC said all of Russia’s 4x10km team would be disqualified given Legkov’s violation.
Belov, who competed in the men’s skiathlon 15+15km mass start event and the 15km classic country skiing event, did not medal at the Sochi Games.
Legkov could not be immediately reached by Reuters for a comment.
It said more decisions would follow in the coming days as the disciplinary commission led by IOC member Denis Oswald completes its investigation into Russian competitors in Sochi.
Russia’s cross country skiing federation said it was preparing an appeal.
The IOC is re-testing all Russian athletes’ samples from the 2014 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 wider doping affair in Russia that has led to the suspension of the country’s anti-doping agency and an international ban for track and field athletes.
The IOC has set up two commissions to investigate Sochi.
The one led by Oswald is in charge of looking into alleged doping violations by individual Russian athletes.
The second investigation is chaired by former Switzerland President Samuel Schmid and is looking into allegations of institutionalised doping in Russia.
Calls from some athletes and anti-doping agencies for a blanket ban of Russians in Pyeongchang have been growing louder in recent weeks.
Russian track and field athletes were banned from the Rio de Janeiro summer Games following the doping affair.