32 Russians appeal to CAS seeking Olympic spots

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Six-time Olympic gold medalist Victor An is among 32 Russian athletes who have filed appeals at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) challenging the decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to bar them from participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

The 32 athletes all failed to pass the mandatory IOC vetting for Russian sportspeople – imposed as a result of Russian doping at the 2014 Olympics – and were not invited to the PyeongChang Games.

Athletes who joined short-track speed skating legend An include world cross-country skiing champion Sergei Ustyugov and world biathlon champion Anton Shipulin.

A supporter stands with a Russian flag in front of the logo of the International Olympic Committee headquarters. /AP Photo

The IOC did not say why any of the individual Russians were not invited, but noted that it used a newly available database detailing past doping cases when it decided who should be eligible.

A hearing is likely to be held on Wednesday, CAS said.

'Strong' evidence despite CAS blow

The IOC review panel on Monday decided not to invite to the PyeongChang Winter Games 15 Russian athletes who were previously banned for life from the Olympics for violation of anti-doping regulations, though their bans were overturned by the CAS last Thursday.

The CAS had said that there was "insufficient evidence" of anti-doping violations, which the IOC found surprising.

The logo of the Russian Olympic team is seen on uniforms designed by ZASPORT, the official clothing supplier for national athletes competing in 2018 Winter Olympics. /Reuters Photo

"It was a shock as we felt the evidence we presented was strong enough to justify the sanctions we had taken," IOC member Denis Oswald told an IOC session in PyeongChang on Tuesday.

Oswald said CAS arbitrators had applied criminal standards of proof that made it far more complicated to prove wrongdoing. The IOC is considering whether to appeal the CAS decision at the Swiss Federal Tribunal.

IOC decision 'shameful'

CGTN Screenshot of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's post on Facebook.

The decision by the IOC was harshly criticized by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev who called it "shameful, unfair and unlawful".

"The IOC commission has taken a shameful decision," Medvedev wrote on Facebook, adding, "This decision is unfair, unlawful, and it was immoral and politicized."

"By refusing to allow the athletes to perform at PyeongChang, whose appeals have been upheld by the CAS, a court that has been created for dealing with disputes related to sport, the IOC commission has trampled down the Olympic Charter and elementary principles of law," Medvedev noted.