Russian Olympic Head Says 200 Of Russia's Athletes Might Compete Under Neutral Flag

Russia's Olympic Committee is backing a plan for Russian athletes to compete under a neutral flag in the upcoming winter Olympics, saying it will support their participation. Despite doping sanctions against the national team, the Russian group's head says 200 of the country's athletes could wind up going to PyeongChang.

The decision comes one week after the International Olympic Committee suspended Russia's Olympic Committee and effectively banned the country from having an official presence at the 2018 PyeongChang games, as punishment for Russia's widespread and systemic cheating by athletes using performance-enhancing drugs.

Although the national committee was banned, the IOC also "created a path for clean individual athletes to compete in PyeongChang" — providing the athletes can pass strict scrutiny. Instead of wearing the official Russian uniform, they would compete under the title "Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR)" and hear the Olympic anthem rather than their national anthem.

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