text: Russia's Alexander Tretiakov won gold in the men's skeleton at Sochi - before being banned for life by the IOC 
   
   XXIII Olympic Winter Games Venue: Pyeongchang, South Korea Dates: 9-25 February Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, Red Button, Connected TVs, BBC Sport website and mobile app. 
   
   A decision to overturn the Olympic life bans of 28 Russian athletes "may have a serious impact on the future fight against doping", says the International Olympic Committee (IOC). 
   
   The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) overturned the IOC suspensions - for doping at the 2014 Winter Olympics - partially upholding 11 other appeals. 
   
   Cas said that in 28 cases evidence was "insufficient" to prove doping. 
   
   The IOC said it would consider its own appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal. 
   
   Cas said that for the 11 athletes whose appeals had been partially upheld, evidence "was sufficient to establish an anti-doping rule violation" had taken place. 
   
   It said they would be "declared ineligible" for this month's Games "instead of a life ban from all Olympic Games". 
   
   The IOC said that the Cas ruling "does not mean that athletes from the group of 28 will be invited" to this month's Games in Pyeongchang. 
   
   It expressed its "satisfaction on one hand and disappointment on the other" at Thursday's decision, made eight days before the 2018 Winter Olympics begin in South Korea. 
   
   "On the one hand, the confirmation of the anti-doping rule violations for 11 athletes because of the manipulation of their samples clearly demonstrates once more the existence of the systemic manipulation of the anti-doping system at Sochi 2014," a statement added. 
   
   "On the other hand, the IOC regrets very much that - according to the Cas press release - the panels did not take this proven existence of the systemic manipulation of the anti-doping system into consideration for the other 28 cases. 
   
   "This may have a serious impact on the future fight against doping. 
   
   "Therefore, the IOC will analyse the reasoned decisions very carefully once they are available and consider consequences, including an appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal." 
   
   Britain in line for another bronze? 
   
   The Cas decision makes it likely that Britain's four-man bobsleigh team from Sochi will be upgraded to a bronze medal. 
   
   John James Jackson, Bruce Tasker, Stuart Benson and Joel Fearon finished fifth, but the IOC disqualified two Russian sleds who finished first and fourth following re-examination of the doping tests conducted at the time. 
   
   Athletes from both Russian sleds were included in the 11 whose doping violations were confirmed by Cas. 
   
   The IOC is yet to officially reallocate the medals from that event, but if confirmed it would raise Britain's medal count to five and make Sochi 2014 their most successful Winter Olympics. 
   
   Jackson told BBC Sport: "Do I feel like an Olympic bronze medallist? I think it's starting to sink in, but I think once we have the medal it will feel more real. 
   
   "It's been a long waiting game since the McLaren report came out to get to a decision. I wasn't expecting the final outcome of the 28 appeals being upheld, but always thought a life-time ban wouldn't be upheld either way." 
   
   Analysis 
   
   BBC sports editor Dan Roan 
   
   Once again, just as in Rio two years ago, the Olympic movement is in chaos on the eve of its showpiece event. 
   
   The IOC had already received huge criticism for banning Russia, but then allowing as many as 169 athletes to compete as neutrals, but with the word 'Russia' emblazoned on their kit. 
   
   The Cas decision now means that the 28 Russian athletes who have had their bans overturned could take legal action against the IOC and fight to be allowed to join their compatriots in Pyeongchang, along with many others excluded from the Olympics, causing last-minute havoc. 
   
   At a time when there are fresh concerns that the new-generation bottles used to collect samples could be tampered with, this will be seen as yet another blow for anti-doping, undermining the entire case built against Russia for state-sponsored doping, and fuelling those who portray the scandal as a Western conspiracy. 
   
   However, many will wonder why the IOC issued these lifetime bans in the first place when legal precedent shows that such sanctions are always doomed to fail once appealed. 
   
   'A get out of jail free card' 
   
   Cas said it considered testimony from experts including former Russian anti-doping official and whistleblower Dr Grigory Rodchenkov and Canadian lawyer Professor Richard McLaren, who authored a damning 2016 report into doping in Russia. 
   
   A statement from Dr Rodchenkov's lawyers said: "This panel's unfortunate decision provides a very small measure of punishment for some athletes but a complete 'get out of jail free card' for most. 
   
   "The Cas decision only emboldens cheaters, makes it harder for clean athletes to win, and provides yet another ill-gotten gain for the corrupt Russian doping system generally, and [President Vladimir] Putin specifically. 
   
   "Clean sport is dead. The Cas decision proves that certain countries can get away with anything and everything. Today's decision will forever stand as the low point in sports integrity." 
   
   How many Russians were banned and why? 
   
   Media playback is not supported on this device IOC president: An 'unprecedented attack on the integrity of the Olympics' 
   
   In total 43 Russians were banned for life from the Olympics following the conclusion of an IOC investigation into evidence of state-sponsored Russian doping at their home Games in Sochi in 2014. 
   
   Bobsleigher Maxim Belugin was the only athlete not to lodge an appeal with Cas, while three other cases - biathletes Olga Zaytseva, Olga Vilukhina and Yana Romanova - have been "suspended". 
   
   The IOC investigation - known as the Oswald Commission, tasked with looking into individual cases of doping - was opened following the findings of the McLaren report. 
   
   The McLaren report said Russian athletes benefited from a state-sponsored doping programme between 2011 and 2015, speaking of "a cover-up that evolved from uncontrolled chaos to an institutionalised and disciplined medal-winning conspiracy". 
   
   The IOC also set up another investigative body - the Schmid Commission - to investigate this wider evidence of institutional doping. 
   
   As a result it banned Russia from competing in Pyeongchang, but 169 Russians have since been invited to take part as neutrals. 
   
   'A puzzle' and 'circumstantial evidence' 
   
   In November, the IOC described the "puzzle" of investigating something that was "by nature and purpose elusive" as it published decisions explaining its first wave of Russian bans. 
   
   With reference to Alexander Legkov, one of two Russian skiers banned on 1 November, the IOC said the athlete had "sought to argue that no evidence could be drawn from the McLaren report" but it had "come to a different conclusion". 
   
   It said that the authority of the report's findings was "unquestionable" and it "can and will rely" on its findings. 
   
   Legkov is one of the 28 athletes whose suspensions were overturned by Cas on Thursday. 
   
   In the statement explaining its decision, Cas said its mandate "was not to determine generally whether there was an organised scheme allowing the manipulation of doping control samples in the Sochi laboratory". 
   
   It said it was "strictly limited to dealing with 39 individual cases and to assess the evidence applicable to each athlete on an individual basis". 
   
   Cas secretary general Matthieu Reeb said there was only "circumstantial evidence" that supported individual claims of doping. 
   
   He added: "It is a matter where there is no direct evidence, such as positive test or a voluntary admission. 
   
   "This does not mean that the 28 athletes are declared innocent, but due to insufficient evidence the appeals are upheld, the sanctions annulled and their results in Sochi are reinstated." 
   
   'We expect to compete' - reaction in Russia 
   
   By BBC Monitoring 
   
   Russian Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov said: "Our guys and all of us are happy that justice has finally triumphed. Today's rulings confirm that many of those who were accused are clean athletes." 
   
   The Interfax news agency quoted Russian Olympic Committee head Alexander Zhukov as saying: "We are simply happy now that the court has restored the athletes' good name and returned their awards." 
   
   Interfax also quoted Kolobkov as saying: "The athletes who fought for their rights have finally won, and are, naturally, happy and looking forward to continuing their careers. 
   
   "They expect the International Olympics Committee to accept the Cas ruling and allow them unconditional rights to take part in the upcoming Olympic games." 
   
   Alexander Zubkov, president of the Russian bobsleigh federation, Sochi gold medallist and one of 11 athletes confirmed to have committed a doping offence, told Reuters he was "partly satisfied" with the decision as "a large number of athletes were exonerated". 
   
   But he was puzzled as to why he was not among them, adding: "I have said many times that I have never doped and do not dope now. What am I being accused of? What anti-doping rule violation do they want to slap against me?" ||||| The International Olympic Committee has reacted with dismay after 28 Russian athletes had their lifetime bans from the Olympics dramatically overturned by the court of arbitration for sport and warned that the ruling could have serious consequences for the fight against doping. 
   
   As Russia’s sports ministry celebrated the decision, saying that “justice had finally triumphed”, the IOC was bracing itself for a fresh legal challenge from some of the athletes who now want to compete in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang which begin next Friday. 
   
   Russians hail 'triumph of justice' as IOC doping bans are overturned Read more 
   
   Cas’s ruling also means the 28 will have their results reinstated from the 2014 Winter Olympics, returning Russia to the top of the medal table. They include the skeleton medallists Alexander Tretyakov and Elena Nikitina, who have already indicated they want to compete in Pyeongchang. 
   
   British IOC member Adam Pengilly said he was “appalled and angry” at the decision, adding that it was “a desperate and dark day for sport, with cheats and thieves allowed to triumph.” 
   
   
   
   “We need to take a long, hard look at sport’s leading administrators and sport’s legal system when we see the greatest fraud at an Olympic Games and years of institutional doping conspiracy pass by with only minor punishment,” he said. 
   
   “Today I have found myself apologising to individual athletes who have had dreams, medals, money and most importantly, faith in sport, stolen from them. They now think that you are better off cheating or getting your nation to establish a doping system because even if it is discovered, the consequences are minimal. Or, if you don’t want to cheat, avoid elite sport like the plague.” 
   
   
   
   The ROC remains suspended from Pyeongchang because of state-sponsored doping in Sochi. However, as things stand, around 160 Russians have been granted permission to compete as “neutral” athletes under the banner of Olympic Athlete from Russia after being cleared of doping by an IOC anti-doping panel. 
   
   That figure could yet rise, although for now the IOC is insisting it will not automatically allow any of the Russians cleared by Cas late entry into the Games. “The result of the Cas decision does not mean that athletes from the group of 28 will be invited,” it said in a statement. “Not being sanctioned does not automatically confer the privilege of an invitation.” 
   
   The IOC was also unusually critical of Cas’s ruling, suggesting the court had not taken enough account of evidence of “the proven existence of the systematic manipulation of the anti-doping system” at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. 
   
   Quick guide Why were the Russia doping bans overturned? Show Hide Why did Cas overturn the lifetime Olympics bans on 28 Russians? It says there was “insufficient” evidence to establish that an anti-doping rule violation had been committed in 28 of the 39 cases it investigated. But haven’t the IOC banned the Russian Olympic Committee from the Winter Olympics for state sponsored doping in Sochi? Indeed. The Russian whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov provided testimony and thousands of documents to support his claims, which were accepted by the IOC and the World Anti-Doping Agency. However Cas says it did not look at systematic doping – just the 39 appeals against lifetime bans from Russian athletes. What is the International Olympic Committee’s reaction? It expressed surprise that Cas had used a higher standard of proof than in previous doping cases, and said the rulings damaged the fight against doping. What are the immediate consequences? The Sochi medal winners among the 28 “cleared” Russians get their medals back - returning Russia on top of the medal table. And in the longer term? As things stand, around 160 Russians have been granted permission to compete as neutral athletes under the banner of Olympic Athlete from Russia after being cleared of doping by an IOC anti-doping panel last week. However some of the 28 “cleared” athletes are preparing an appeal so that figure could rise. What is the IOC’s response? Resistance - for now. The result of the Cas decision does not mean that athletes from the group of 28 will be invited,” it said. Russia’s lawyers may be able to barge the door open regardless. 
   
   Much of the evidence was provided by Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of Russian anti-doping, who detailed how he gave cocktails of banned steroids to athletes and then swapped tainted samples for clean urine on orders from Russian officials. 
   
   His testimony – along with thousands of supporting documents and statements from other whistleblowers – led to the Russian Olympic Committee being suspended in December and 43 Russians being given life bans from the Olympics after an IOC investigation led by Denis Oswald. At the time the IOC president, Thomas Bach, called it an “unprecedented attack on the integrity of the Olympic Games and sport”. 
   
   However, on Thursday Cas ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove beyond doubt the 28 Russians had each committed an anti-doping rule violation. 
   
   “The Cas required an even higher threshold on the necessary evidence than the Oswald Commission and former Cas decisions,” the IOC said in a statement. “This may have a serious impact on the future fight against doping.” 
   
   The news was also greeted with frustration by Jim Walden, the lawyer for Rodchenkov, who remains in hiding after fleeing Russia in 2015. 
   
   “Dr Rodchenkov testified fully and credibly at Cas,” he said. “His truth has been verified by forensic evidence, other whistleblowers and, more recently, recovery of the Moscow lab’s secret database, showing thousands of dirty tests that were covered up. 
   
   “This panel’s unfortunate decision provides a very small measure of punishment for some athletes but a complete ‘get out of jail free card’ for most. Thus, the Cas decision only emboldens cheaters, makes it harder for clean athletes to win, and provides yet another ill-gotten gain for the corrupt Russian doping system generally, and [Vladimir] Putin specifically.” 
   
   Another 11 Russians were convicted of having committed anti-doping rule violations in Sochi by Cas but had their life bans cut to a ban from the Pyeongchang Games alone. Among them were members of the Russian four-man bobsleigh team that won medals in Sochi – meaning the GB team, which originally finished fifth, will be promoted into the bronze-medal position. 
   
   Philippe Bärtsch, a lawyer for Russian athletes, said the high salt levels in the 11 athletes’ samples were accepted as evidence of tampering. 
   
   Of the 43 Russian athletes banned by the IOC Maxim Belugin, a bobsleigher, was the only one not to lodge an appeal with Cas. Three other cases – biathletes Olga Zaytseva, Olga Vilukhina and Yana Romanova – have yet to be heard. 
   
   IOC accused of 'backroom deals' with Russia over doping scandal Read more 
   
   Match TV, a Kremlin-funded sport channel, celebrated the court’s decision by broadcasting in full the almost two-hour-long men’s 50km freestyle cross-country skiing competition from the Sochi Olympics, in which Russia swept the podium. The TV channel also described the ruling as a “bang on the nose” for the IOC. 
   
   In a statement explaining its decision Cas said its panels had looked at individual cases and not whether state-sponsored doping had taken place. ||||| Matthieu Reeb, CAS Secretary General, speaks during a press conference about Russian athletes who are challenging the decisions taken by the Disciplinary Commission of the International Olympic Committee... (Associated Press) 
   
   Matthieu Reeb, CAS Secretary General, speaks during a press conference about Russian athletes who are challenging the decisions taken by the Disciplinary Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC DC) ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018.... (Associated Press) 
   
   MOSCOW (AP) — The Latest on Russian doping (all times local): 
   
   ___ 
   
   2:15 p.m. 
   
   The head coach of the Swedish ski team says the decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn the disqualifications of 28 Russians who competed at the 2014 Sochi Olympics was "very messy." 
   
   Rikard Grip told Sweden's tabloid Expressen the ruling was "very surprising (and) the process long and strange." 
   
   Two Swedish cross-country skiers, Emil Jonsson and Teodor Peterson, had moved up on the podium after some Russians were banned from the team sprint. 
   
   Peterson told Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter that "it does not matter if we are back as bronze medalists." 
   
   ___ 
   
   1:30 p.m. 
   
   U.S. skeleton veteran Katie Uhlaender says she is "heartbroken" by the Court of Arbitration for Sport's decision to overturn the disqualifications of 28 Russians who competed at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. 
   
   Uhlaender finished fourth in Sochi, one spot behind Elena Nikitina of Russia. Nikitina had been one of the athletes who had her results from Sochi stripped, which would have meant Uhlaender would be in line to move up to bronze and claim her first Olympic medal. 
   
   Nikitina is one of the 28 who had bans overturned and results reinstated by CAS. It's still unclear if Nikitina will be allowed to compete in Pyeongchang. 
   
   Uhlaender says what will happen next is bigger than a medal. She says "the integrity of sport is on the line, and I'm looking to the leaders of a movement to do something to save it." 
   
   ___ 
   
   1:25 p.m. 
   
   Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko says the country plans to file more legal action to ensure athletes who won their doping appeals can compete at the Pyeongchang Olympics. 
   
   Speaking at a televised cabinet meeting, Mutko says "the athletes have been given back their good names. We never had any doubt in them." 
   
   The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned bans on 28 Russians, citing insufficient evidence. Eleven more remain disqualified from the 2014 Sochi Games but had their lifetime Olympic bans cut to a ban only from the Pyeongchang Games. 
   
   Mutko called on the IOC to allow them to enter, saying "we assume that those athletes who are ready, who have qualified, who have quotas in their sport, will all be entered for the Olympics," and that "if the IOC does not accept them, then we will support them in cases which could be filed at CAS and other legal instances." 
   
   ___ 
   
   1:20 p.m. 
   
   Russian skeleton competitor Elena Nikitina says she wants to compete at the Pyeongchang Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned her doping ban. 
   
   Nikitina tells The Associated Press "we were hoping for justice and it has prevailed," adding "now everything has returned to normal and I hope we can compete at the Olympic Games." 
   
   The International Olympic Committee has been ordered to reinstate Nikitina as a bronze medalist from the 2014 Sochi Games. Had she remained banned, the medal was due to pass to American slider Katie Uhlaender. 
   
   However, the IOC is resisting calls to allow Nikitina and the other Russians entry to the Pyeongchang Olympics, which start next week. 
   
   Nikitina says "now I'm going to train in a different mood today, because ... you would think, what should I be preparing for, the Russian national championships which is two months away, or the Olympic Games? Now we have the purpose to train for the Olympic Games." 
   
   ___ 
   
   12:45 p.m. 
   
   The IOC says it will not necessarily invite the 28 Russian athletes who won their Sochi Olympic doping case appeals to compete at the Pyeongchang Games. 
   
   The International Olympic Committee says "not being sanctioned does not automatically confer the privilege of an invitation" to the games, which open in South Korea next week. 
   
   The statement was issued soon after the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the disqualifications and Olympic life bans of 28 Russians from the 2014 Sochi Games. 
   
   The IOC notes that CAS said the urgent ruling "does not mean that these 28 athletes are declared innocent." 
   
   A further 11 Russians lost their appeals, which the IOC says "clearly demonstrates once more the existence of the systemic manipulation" of the Sochi anti-doping system. 
   
   The IOC says it could challenge the CAS rulings at Switzerland's supreme court. 
   
   ___ 
   
   12:30 p.m. 
   
   Twenty-eight Russian athletes have had their Olympic doping bans overturned, throwing the International Olympic Committee's policy on the country into turmoil. 
   
   The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling was set to reinstate seven Russian medals from the 2014 Sochi Olympics, including gold in men's skeleton and men's 50-kilometer cross-country skiing. 
   
   Eleven more Russians were ruled to have been guilty of doping but had lifetime bans imposed by an IOC disciplinary panel two months ago cut to a ban only from the Pyeongchang Games, which open next week. 
   
   CAS secretary general Matthieu Reeb says "this does not mean that these 28 athletes are declared innocent, but in their case, due to insufficient evidence, the appeals are upheld, the sanctions annulled and their individual results achieved in Sochi are reinstated." 
   
   The IOC says it has taken note of the CAS decision "with satisfaction on the one hand and disappointment on the other," adding the decision "may have a serious impact on the future fight against doping."
target: – In a bombshell ruling just a week before the Winter Olympics open in Pyeongchang, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has overturned the lifetime Olympic bans of 28 out of 43 Russian athletes accused of doping at the Sochi Games in 2014. The athletes can now keep medals they won in Sochi and could theoretically compete in Pyeongchang—though the International Olympic Committee says the ruling doesn't mean they are automatically invited, the Guardian reports. The CAS also reduced the bans of 11 Russians found guilty of doping from lifetime to this Olympics only. The IOC banned Russia for sanctioning doping, but at least 164 Russian athletes will compete in the "Olympic Athlete of Russia" team. In a ruling that the IOC warned "could have a serious impact on the future fight against doping," the CAS said the bans were being overturned not because the athletes were being "declared innocent, but in their case, due to insufficient evidence," the BBC reports. The IOC also said the upholding of sanctions against some athletes "clearly demonstrates once more the existence of the systemic manipulation of the anti-doping system at Sochi 2014." Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko says Moscow plans to file legal action to allow the athletes involved to compete in Pyeongchang, the AP reports. Veteran American skeleton athlete Katie Uhlaender, meanwhile, says she is "heartbroken" by the decision, which means she will lose the bronze medal she was awarded after the Russian who finished third in Sochi was disqualified.