Russia's team name, flag agreed on for next 2 Olympics
LAUSANNE โ With Russiaโs name banned from the next two Olympics, the country's team and athletes will be officially branded as โROC,โ the International Olympic Committee said Friday. Russiaโs team name, flag and national anthem were banned from this yearโs Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. AdRussian competitors were known as โOlympic Athletes from Russiaโ at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. A piece of music to replace the Russian national anthem at medal ceremonies has not yet been agreed on. โThe Russian Olympic Committee will submit a proposed musical score to be played for all ceremonies,โ the IOC said.
Russia claims victory with loopholes in Olympic sanctions
President of the Russian Olympic Committee Stanislav Pozdnyakov attends a news conference in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020. โIt is a victory for Russia,โ Russian anti-doping agency acting CEO Mikhail Bukhanov said. The most important part of the ruling, according to Russian Olympic Committee president Stanislav Pozdnyakov, was the lack of any โextra criteriaโ for eligibility. โClean Russian athletes can take part in the Olympics without any restrictions and do that on a team formed by the national Olympic committee,โ Pozdnyakov said. When the โOlympic Athletes from Russiaโ team competed at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, it was only after the International Olympic Committee had vetted the athletes for possible connections to doping at the Sochi Games four years earlier.