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Appeals by 45 Russian athletes against Olympic bans rejected

FILE - In this Feb. 3, 2018, file photo, wearing an Olympic uniform with the logo OAR - Olympic Athlete from Russia, Russian short track speed skater Ekaterina Efremenkova rounds the track with Canadian skaters during a training session.
FILE - In this Feb. 3, 2018, file photo, wearing an Olympic uniform with the logo OAR - Olympic Athlete from Russia, Russian short track speed skater Ekaterina Efremenkova rounds the track with Canadian skaters during a training session. FILE - In this Feb. 3, 2018, file photo, wearing an Olympic uniform with the logo OAR - Olympic Athlete from Russia, Russian short track speed skater Ekaterina Efremenkova rounds the track with Canadian skaters during a training session.

By Associated Press 5 min read

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) – Russia’s desperate attempt to get 45 banned athletes – including several medal favorites – into the Pyeongchang Olympics failed just hours before Friday’s opening ceremony.

The International Olympic Committee had banned Russia because of a massive doping scheme at the 2014 Sochi Games, but gave individual athletes the chance to apply for admission to compete as “Olympic Athletes from Russia.” There were 168 Russians who passed the vetting process. Dozens more filed appeals with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

On Friday, the court upheld the IOC’s right to decide who can compete.

Anti-doping officials praised the ruling, which is a heavy blow to Russian medal chances.

“That’s it. The story is over,” Russian delegation spokesman Konstantin Vybornov said. Shamil Tarpishchev, a Russian member of the IOC, said the CAS ruling may have been legally correct but he disagreed with the spirit of the ruling.