Olympia 2018: Bach: Clean athletes to represent a new generation of Russia

IOC President Thomas Bach hopes that Russian athletes will take advantage of the opportunity to participate in the Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang (9. till 25. February) under a neutral flag.

“I am confident that Russian athletes will seize the opportunity and represent a new generation of clean Russian athletes in Pyeongchang,”said Bach after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ruled out a boycott of his country.

I did not discuss this point with President Putin, neither before the announcement of our decision nor afterwards,”Bach said. He knows that on Tuesday there will be a meeting of Russian top athletes with representatives of the sport, where the start in Pyeongchang will be discussed further.

The IOC had excluded Russia from the South Korean Winter Games on Tuesday evening because of systematic doping, but allowed clean athletes to participate under certain conditions. Clean athletes can compete for Team OAR (“Olympic Athletes from Russia”).