IOC to Appeal CAS Decisions on Russian Athletes - President

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will appeal the decisions of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding Russian athletes in an effort to prevent other Olympians from being impacted, President of the IOC Thomas Bach said on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said the organization would appeal the two CAS decisions overturning the sanctions imposed on Russian athletes over doping allegations.

"We were also discussing the CAS decisions concerning the Russian athletes and their appeals against sanctions of the Oswald commission… The [IOC Executive] Board decided to appeal these decisions," Bach said at a press conference.

Bach said that the IOC was not satisfied with the court's explanations for their rulings.

The IOC's move to appeal was motivated by their desire to protect the interests of the athletes whose results could be adversely affected by the earlier verdicts, Bach said, adding that the organization was not concerned with its chances of winning the case, but rather with protecting the athletes.

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The IOC commission headed by Denis Oswald investigated the alleged doping violations committed by Russian athletes at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. The commission has disqualified 43 athletes, voiding their 2014 results and banning them from the Olympics for life. The CAS has fully restored 28 of the athletes and partially satisfied the appeals of 11 more.