Six banned skiers given WC green light

BERLIN: Six Russian cross-country skiers banned for life from the Olympics for doping were given the provisional go-ahead to compete in the World Cup campaign, the International Ski Federation announced on Thursday.
According to the FIS, the International Olympic Committee’s ban on Sochi 2014 50km gold medallist Alexander Legkov and five of his compatriots was not legally-binding proof of their guilt.
“In consequence the FIS is obliged to wait on the conclusions from the IOC’s disciplinary commission and the evidence before taking other measures,” the FIS explained in a statement.THE IOC’s executive committee meets in Lausanne from December 5-7 to rule on whether to allow Russia, accused of state-sponsored doping, to compete at the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. The six skiers concerned are Legkov, Evgeniy Belov, 2013 world champion Alexei Petukhov, three-time Sochi silver medallist and 2015 world champion Maxim Vylegzhanin, Evgenia Shapovalova and Yulia Ivanova.