MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Friday it regretted Russia was unable to avoid doping sanctions but some officials declared a small victory after sport’s highest court halved a ban on athletes competing at the Olympics under the Russian flag to two years.
The decision, announced by the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday, softened sanctions issued by global anti-doping authorities in response to Moscow intentionally providing it with doctored laboratory data that could have identified drug cheats, something it denies.
The Kremlin said it was good that the ruling, which some foreign sports officials have said was not tough enough given Russia’s doping offences, allows some Russian athletes to compete at the world’s most prestigious sporting events.
CAS said the decision means Russians who are not suspended have a chance to compete in the Olympics and world championships as neutrals – without the Russian flag on their uniform and without the country’s anthem sung at official venues.
