Russia welcomes CAS decision

Russia’s Olympic Committee on Thursday expressed its satisfaction with the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to not ban the country’s athletes from participating in the Olympics.

Russia's Olympic Committee on Thursday expressed its satisfaction with the Court of Arbitration for Sport's decision to not ban the country's athletes from participating in the Olympics.

Sport's highest court on Thursday barred Russia from the international stage for two years including the rearranged Tokyo Olympics and Beijing Winter Games, but halved a four-year ban for systemic doping imposed by WADA.

The country will also miss out on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the Russian Olympic Committee's president Stanislav Pozdnyakov expressed satisfaction that CAS had not "collectively" banned Russia's athletes, who will still be able to participate under a neutral flag if they prove no connection to doping.

However Pozdnyakov blasted as "unacceptable" CAS's decision to ban Russia's high-ranking officials, including the country's president Vladimir Putin, from attending the Games.