Russia’s four-year ban from global sporting events has been halved, in a move that will affect athletes competing at the next two Olympic Games, but could end the long-running fallout from its state-sponsored doping scandal.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport, a Swiss body considered the ultimate arbiter for global sports disputes, ruled on Thursday that wide-ranging sanctions applied on Russia by the World Anti-Doping Agency should be upheld. However, CAS also decided to reduce the original four-year ban to two years.
This decision means that, although some Russian athletes will be allowed to compete at big sporting events, they are able to do so only as “neutral athletes”, while the country’s flag and anthem are barred.