(File Photo)Russian athletes stripped of their titles from the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics over doping will not return their medals until an appeal has been heard, the country’s sports ministry said Wednesday.
The International Olympic Committee on Monday sanctioned five Russian athletes, including two four-man bobsleigh champions and two biathlon silver medallists, following recommendations from the Oswald Commission into the doping scandal.
“The Russian Bobsleigh Federation and the Cross Country Ski Federation of Russia are ready to appeal at the Court for Arbitration for Sport (CAS),” the ministry said in a statement quoted by the Interfax press agency.
Athletes “have no intention of turning in their medals” before the appeal, the statement added.
Russian biathlete Yana Romanova, who has been disqualified, said Tuesday she would rather “throw (her) medal in the bin than give it back to the IOC”.
Doping: Russia Says Athletes Will Not Return 2014 Medals
