Russia is nominally barred from the coming Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, because of its program of state-backed systematic doping. But Russia announced Thursday that it would send a robust team of 169 athletes to the games, where they will compete as “Olympic Athletes from Russia.”That number is not far off the size of teams sent by Russia in the past. Russia had more than 200 athletes at the Sochi Games in 2014. The International Olympic Committee announced in December that Russian government officials would be forbidden to attend, its flag would not be displayed and its anthem would not sound. But it also said that athletes from Russia who received special dispensation could compete.

Source: thestar January 25, 2018 22:30 UTC