Russian Athletes Likely To Compete Under National Flag At 2020 Tokyo Olympics - ROC

Russian athletes are likely to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan under the Russian flag, regardless of Russian Athletic Federation's (RusAF) status, Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) President Stanislav Pozdnyakov said Wednesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th March, 2019) Russian athletes are likely to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan under the Russian flag, regardless of Russian Athletic Federation's (RusAF) status, Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) President Stanislav Pozdnyakov said Wednesday.

"Athletes will compete under the Russian flag at the next European Games. They participated under the Russian flag in the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics. All this leads to the fact that athletes, who have received the right from the international federation to compete at the games, will compete as part of the Russian Olympic team in Tokyo, regardless of RusAF status," Pozdnyakov told reporters.

The ROC along with the International Olympic Committee and various international sports federations have made significant progress in allowing Russian athletes to compete under the national flag at major sporting events, Pozdnyakov noted.

RusAF's International Association of Athletics Federations membership was suspended in 2015 over allegations that Russian officials had been involved in schemes to cover up doping violations in Russian sports. The suspension resulted in Russian athletes only being able to compete at the international level under a neutral flag and only after receiving individual permission.

Russia has acknowledged that certain doping violations had taken place in Russia and were being dealt with, but has categorically refuted the claims alleging that the use of banned substances was supported at the state level.