Russia banned from 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang

Russia has been banned from the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang according to the International Olympic Committee who made the ruling on Tuesday.

The International Olympic Committee announced today that it will not allow Russia to compete in the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang after the fallout from the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

A 14-person panel made the decision after meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland on Tuesday.

Due to the ban, no Russian officials will be allowed to attend, the Russian flag will not be flown or shown in any Olympics display and if any Russian athletes are allowed to attend it will not be under the Russian banner. Instead, they will compete under a neutral banner and any medals will not be credited to Russia.

Two separate reports stemming from the World Anti-Doping Agency detailed rampant doping of Russian athletes and the coverup by Russia. The report shows the cover-up as far back as the 2012 Olympics in London. More than 1,000 Olympic athletes have been implicated in these reports.

According to Yahoo! Sports:

"“At one point, small rods were used to pry open the sealed tops of urine testing containers, fluids were switched and the caps replaced, with the containers being exchanged through small holes in a wall. Russian officials would add substances like salt to the clean, switched urine samples to make them appear more real.”"

The punishment is the most severe of options as they could have fined Russia or banned specific officials or athletes. Instead, the IOC opted for a full-scale ban.

Russia is able to fight the ban, but it’s more likely that the country will boycott the Olympics especially after Russian President Vladimir Putin said that a ban would “humiliate” the country.

Russia won a total of 33 medals at the Sochi Olympics and a whopping 82 medals (24 gold, 27 silver, and 31 bronze) in London. They placed fourth in overall medal count that year.