IOC bans five more Russians for life over Sochi doping

Five more Russian competitors from the 2014 Sochi Olympics were banned for life over anti-doping rule violations. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in a press statement yesterday that the banned athletes include Dmitrii Trunenkov and Aleksei Negodailo, both in the gold-medal winning four-man bobsleigh team, plus biathlon relay silver medalists Yana Romanova and Olga Vilukhina, who also won silver in the 7.5 kilometers event. Sergei Chudinov, who came fifth in the men's individual skeleton, was also disqualified for doping



breaches. 

It said the five athletes punished were also banned from competing at any future Winter Olympics. The IOC's announcement comes following hearings by an IOC commission into allegations of state-sponsored doping in Russia at the 2014 Games, hosted by Russia. The IOC has punished 19 Russian Olympians so far on the recommendation of the commission. The latest sanctions come just a week before a crucial IOC meeting on 5th to 7th of next month to decide whether Russia can compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.