IOC Limits 2018 Winter Olympics Invitation for Russian Athletes

The Invitation Review Panel and the Olympic Athlete from Russia Implementation Group (OARIG) has reduced the pool of clean Russian athletes considered for invitation to compete in 2018 Winter Olympics from 500 to 389, the International Olympic Committee said Friday.

"As of today, the original pre-registration pool of 500 athletes has already been reduced by 111 by the Panel. For others in the remaining pool of athletes, pre-conditions such as further pre-Games tests and reanalysis from stored samples have been required," the IOC said in a statement on its website.

"Only if these requirements are met can the athletes be considered for invitation. No athlete who has been sanctioned by the Oswald Commission is still in the pool," the statement said.

In December, the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee made a decision to allow only so-called clean athletes to compete in the 2018 Games under the Olympic Flag and suspended the Russian National Olympic Committee over the alleged "systematic manipulation" of the anti-doping system.

The decision was based on the alleged findings by two commissions established by the IOC: the Disciplinary Commission chaired by Denis Oswald and the Inquiry Commission chaired by Samuel Schmid.

The Russian Olympic Committee’s Athletes Commission said it would support the Russian athletes who want to compete at the Pyeongchang Olympics.