PYEONGCHANG, South Korea: Forty-five Russian athletes will have to wait until Friday, the opening day of the Pyeongchang Olympics, to find out if they can compete.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport heard the case of the 45 Russian athletes 鈥� including numerous medal contenders 鈥� and two coaches on Thursday. It will announce its ruling on Friday, nine hours before the opening ceremony.
Six other Russian athletes鈥� appeals were thrown out. CAS said it 鈥渓acked jurisdiction鈥� to hear the cases.
Those six cases had been filed separately with applications by seven members of Russian support staff. CAS said its arbiters reviewed written submissions and 鈥渄etermined that the CAS ad hoc division lacked jurisdiction to deal with any of the two applications.鈥�
The six athletes include two world champion speedskaters, Denis Yuskov and Pavel Kulizhnikov, plus athletes from biathlon and ski jumping.
All six were originally refused invitations to compete by the IOC. Unlike those in the group of 45, all six have previously served bans of various lengths for failed doping tests. The IOC had said it wouldn鈥檛 invite athletes previously banned for doping.
The first competitions of the games, including a US-Russia curling match, had already started when CAS heard the cases at a luxury resort in the mountains near Pyeongchang.
鈥淲e are hopeful that the panel will follow our argumentation and respect the rights of the athletes,鈥� said Philippe Baertsch, a lawyer for the group of 45 Russians who are still awaiting their verdict. In attendance with Baertsch for that hearing were Elena Nikitina, the 2014 bronze medalist in women鈥檚 skeleton, and Tatiana Ivanova, a luger who won silver in the team event in 2014.
Leaving the hearing, Nikitina said the three arbiters 鈥� from Canada, Switzerland and Australia 鈥� 鈥渨ere pleasant and we were listened to.鈥�
鈥淲e can鈥檛 comment on what just happened at the panel. I鈥檒l just say that we came here to defend our good name and we were fully listened to by the CAS panel,鈥� said luge coach Albert Demchenko, who was at the hearing. 鈥淎ll our documents and words were heard.鈥�
The Russians are seeking to overturn the International Olympic Committee鈥檚 decision not to invite them to the games. If they win, it would force the IOC to accept athletes it considers to be linked to doping offenses.
The Russian team is formally banned, so they would have to compete as 鈥淥lympic Athletes from Russia鈥� in neutral uniforms under the Olympic flag. With 168 IOC-approved athletes, it is already one of the biggest teams in Pyeongchang.
The IOC won鈥檛 comment on individual cases, but says its invitation process was based on evidence from a newly obtained Moscow laboratory database detailing doping in previous years.
Other athletes whose cases will be heard include Viktor Ahn, a six-time Olympic gold medalist in short-track speedskating, and Alexander Legkov, a cross-country skiing gold medalist.
Sergei Parkhomenko, the general secretary of the Russian Bobsled Federation, said athletes from his team were training in Siberia, ready to fly to South Korea at a moment鈥檚 notice if CAS gives them the green light.
鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping for a fair and logical decision from the court,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f there鈥檚 a positive ruling, they鈥檒l fly in.鈥�
Russian officials and athletes have indicated that not all of those who have filed appeals plan to compete if they win. Some are reportedly no longer in training, while others may not be included on full rosters in sports like hockey.
US SPEEDSKATER IN 'COIN TOSS' STORM
A tweet posted by the account of speedskater Shani Davis has blasted the use of a coin toss to select the US flagbearer for the opening ceremony at the Pyeongchang Games. Davis and luge athlete Erin Hamlin each got four votes in the athlete-led process. Each of the eight US winter sports federations got to nominate one athlete and have another serve as a voter. The US Olympic Committee said it was predetermined that a coin toss would be used in the case of a tie and if the athletes could not find a way to choose a clear winner. The tweet said the selection was made 鈥渄ishonorably,鈥� and included a reference to Black History Month. Davis is black, Hamlin is white. Davis鈥� account is verified, but it was unknown if he sent the tweet or if someone with access to his account did.