Russian athletes have been targeted in anti-doping testing ahead of next month’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, the International Olympic Committee announced on Thursday. Over 14,000 tests on more than 6,000 athletes from 61 countries have been carried out by the IOC’s pre-Games anti-doping taskforce, it said. "With extra scrutiny on Russian athletes, November and December saw testing on double the number of athletes from Russia than any other country," the IOC said. The upcoming Games, which begin in South Korea on February 9, are the first Winter Olympics since it was revealed Russia manipulated anti-doping tests at the Sochi Games four years ago. Only Russian athletes with a clean history will be able to compete in Pyeongchang, under the Olympic flag and as an "Olympic Athlete from Russia".

Source: Evening echo January 18, 2018 18:22 UTC