Olympic Games 2018: World Federation IBSF blocks Russian skeleton pilots

The bobsleigh and skeleton federation IBSF has temporarily banned Russian skeleton pilots excluded from the International Olympic Committee. This was announced by the IBSF on the fringes of the World Cup in Whistler, Canada, on Friday night (CET).

The riders are Sochi Olympic champion Alexander Tretyakov and bronze medallist Jelena Nikitina, Olga Potylizina (5th place) and the Sochi Olympic champion Alexander Tretyakov. ) and Maria Orlowa (6.).

The quartet had been suspended for life in all functions for the Olympic Games on Wednesday in the wake of the Russian state doping scandal, Tretyakov and Nikitina have to return their medals. The IOC had not published any detailed reasons for the judgement.

For this reason, the FIS World Ski Federation decided not to block six Russian cross-country skiers on Thursday, who had also received the highest penalty from the IOC. Alexander Legkov, the 50-kilometre Olympic gold medallist, will be allowed to compete in the World Cup for the time being.

The IBSF, on the other hand, intervened harder and temporarily blocked the athletes. The association said that the athletes concerned were entitled to a hearing. On Friday, the Russian Federation announced that it would exercise this right.

“At the moment there is no evidence of the athletes’ guilt,”was quoted association president Alexander Subkov by the news agency TASS. Subkow, as a bobsleigh driver at the 2014 Winter Games, won gold in pairs and foursomes and is also under suspicion of doping:”We hope that the IBSF will act in the same way as it did last season when the temporary suspensions were lifted after the hearing. As early as January 2017, in response to the second McLaren report, the World Federation had temporarily blocked the affected skeletonis.

In contrast to the cross-country skiers who start their Olympic season in Kuusamo this weekend, the skeletonis in Whistler are already competing in their third World Cup. Nikitina had won the race in Park City on Saturday – ahead of Vice World Champion Tina Hermann (Königssee).