IOC bans four Russian athletes for life

Four Russian skeleton athletes, including Olympic gold medalist Alexander Tretyakov, have received lifetime bans from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after being found guilty of doping at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Of the four, two have been stripped of medals, including Tretyakov and bronze medalist Elena Nikitina, with Maria Orlova and Olga Potylitsyna also ruled to “have committed anti-doping rule violations,” according to an IOC statement.

"The four athletes are declared ineligible to be accredited in any capacity for all editions of the Games of the Olympiad and the Olympic Winter Games subsequent to the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014," the statement read.

Earlier this month, six cross-country skiers were also found to have breached doping regulations at the games, as the IOC’s investigation into allegations of widespread doping among Russian athletes presses on.  

Part of its investigation includes the re-testing of blood and urine samples taken from Russian athletes at Sochi 2014. The decision to reexamine samples was made after the former head of Moscow’s anti-doping laboratory – which has since been suspended – revealed that the nation attempted to cover-up positive doping samples when sharing information with the IOC. The nation won a total of 27 medals during the Sochi games.  

December 5th will see the IOC make a decision whether or not to allow Russian athletes to take part in February’s winter Olympics, Pyeonchang, South Korea. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has said that Russia remains non-compliant with international regulations, and has urged the IOC to ban Russia from competing at the games.