Page 22 - AT

A22 SPORTS
Friday 20 december 2019
Russia plans to file appeal against Olympic ban

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia Putin added that WADA's
has signaled it will file an recommended four-year
appeal against its four- ban on Russia hosting major
year Olympic ban due to sports competitions would
World Anti-Doping Agency have little effect, pointing
sanctions which President to the 2022 men's volleyball
Vladimir Putin on Thursday world championships as
branded "unfair." an event Russia intends to
The Russian anti-doping keep.
agency's supervisory board WADA demands events
voted Thursday to file an are moved unless it's "legal-
arbitration case with the ly or practically impossible"
Court of Arbitration for to do so, which could cre-
Sport (CAS) in Switzerland. ate a loophole for event
WADA last week ruled Rus- organizers who don't want
sia had manipulated dop- to break financial commit-
ing laboratory data to cov- ments.
er up past offenses. That ban already doesn't
Putin said it was not fair to apply to next year's Euro-
threaten Russia with more This May 24, 2016 file photo shows a RUSADA sign that reads: "Russian National Anti-doping pean Championship soc-
doping-related punish- Agency" on a building in Moscow, Russia. cer games in St. Petersburg
ment, and that any sanc- Associated Press or the 2021 Champions
tions should be on an in- League final, both of which
dividual basis. "I think it is Russian Paralympic Com- The WADA sanctions, an- to appeal and said it was are exempt because
not just unfair but not cor- mittee, have said they nounced last week, ban another example of the they're continental, not
responding to common want an appeal. Sports of- the use of the Russian team country refusing to take world, championships.
sense and law," Putin said. ficials are likely to have sub- name, flag or anthem at a responsibility for its doping Russia handed over the
The case will likely be re- stantial influence over how range of major sports com- program. lab's doping data archive
ferred to CAS within the the case is argued and petitions over the next four "Yet again, they deny ac- in January in return for hav-
next 10-15 days, supervisory the hiring of lawyers, rather years, including next year's countability and continue ing earlier sanctions lifted in
board chairman Alexander than leaving it in the hands Olympics and the 2022 soc- to waste precious and lim- 2018. WADA investigators
Ivlev said. After a panel of of Russian anti-doping cer World Cup. ited resources in an effort found evidence that Russia
three CAS arbitrators is cho- agency CEO Yuri Ganus. However, Russian athletes to weasel out of the conse- was intensively editing the
sen, a verdict will be issued He is a frequent critic of top will be allowed to compete quences, all the while leav- data in the weeks before
within three months. officials and has said the as neutrals if they pass a ing clean athletes of the the handover to remove
"The ball will be in WADA's appeal has little chance of vetting process which ex- world without justice or clar- signs of failed drug tests.
court and the issue will be success. amines their history of drug ity on their path forward," WADA said it found fake
discussed in a legal con- Senior political figures in- testing, and possible in- Tygart said in a statement. messages spliced into chat
text," Ivlev said. "We consid- cluding Putin had also sig- volvement in cover-ups at "Let's hope CAS has the in- logs in an apparent at-
er the argumentation to be naled they wanted an ap- the lab. dependence and courage tempt to smear former lab
fairly strong and we will see peal filed. That has prompted anger to see through these mach- director Grigory Rodchen-
how the issue develops." "We need to wait calmly for from some Western ath- inations and finally stand kov, who's become a key
Thursday's decision must be the relevant rulings, includ- letes and organizations like firm and take decisive ac- witness for WADA since
approved by another pan- ing the arbitration court the United States Anti-Dop- tion that puts in place a leaving Russia.
el of Russian sports and an- ruling and we'll know what ing Agency, which wanted complete ban, which is al- Russia has produced its
ti-doping figures, but that position we're in," Putin said a blanket ban on Russian lowed for and proportional own report arguing that
seems a formality. Thursday. "Russian athletes athletes. to the intentional fraud, de- any editing was the result
Most of the panel's mem- have been training and will USADA chief executive Tra- ception, and destruction of illicit changes made from
bers, including the Russian keep training for all com- vis Tygart said he wasn't of clean athletes and the abroad, or the instability of
Olympic Committee and petitions." surprised by Russia's plans Olympic values seen here." the lab software.q

Shiffrin will skip World Cup races in France to rest, train

VAL D'ISERE, France (AP) — I have to get some work and burn energy — more
Mikaela Shiffrin is starting done now, so Merry Christ- so in a packed week that
her Christmas racing break mas and see you in Lienz!" included a rare Tuesday
early by skipping a World Shiffrin wrote on her Twitter race, a giant slalom at
Cup meeting in France this account. nearby Courchevel.
weekend. Shiffrin would typically Instead, she will train for
After sitting out a training score well in the Alpine slalom, and the giant sla-
run Thursday ahead of a combined event, which lom in which she is Olympic
downhill scheduled Sat- includes a run of her best champion.
urday, the three-time de- discipline slalom, sched- Shiffrin wrote Tuesday after
fending overall World Cup uled Sunday at Val d'Isere. placing 17th, her lowest-
champion said she will now Her downhill form has been scoring race this season,
focus on preparing for Dec. good with runner-up and that she would reassess her
28-29 races in Austria. 10th place finishes this sea- schedule. She also opted
"I was pretty excited, really son. not to race in parallel sla- United States' Mikaela Shiffrin enters the finish area of an alpine
— and it would have been However, before the races lom last Sunday at St. Moritz ski, women's World Cup giant slalom in Courchevel, France,
the first time that I made are two days of downhill despite winning that event Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019.
that schedule work ... but training runs that carry risk in Switzerland last season.q Associated Press