PYEONGCHANG, South Korea: Olympics chief Thomas Bach denied the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics had been "tainted" by the Russian doping scandal as officials voted to keep Russia's suspension in place for the closing ceremony on Sunday. There is no indication whatsoever of systemic or systematic doping here, or of any involvement of the OAR leadership or... the Russian Olympic Committee." Neither Krushelnitsky or Sergeyeva contested the findings of their doping tests, but both are free to challenge any eventual suspensions from their sports. Stanislav Pozdnyakov, head of the Russian delegation, echoed Bach when he blamed "negligence rather than malicious intent" for the positive tests. Australia's chef de mission Ian Chesterman called the Russian doping conspiracy, which culminated at Sochi 2014, an "absolute disgrace".

Source: Bangkok Post February 25, 2018 11:48 UTC