Russia athletes to compete in Winter Olympics under neutral flag

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Russians will be allowed to compete at the upcoming Pyeongchang Olympics as neutral athletes despite orchestrated doping at the 2014 Sochi Games, the International Olympic Committee said today.

The IOC ruled some Russians will be invited to compete as an "Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR)" without their national flag or anthem.

Russia could refuse the offer and boycott the games. Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously said it would be humiliating for Russia to compete without national symbols.

"An Olympic boycott has never achieved anything," IOC President Thomas Bach said at a news conference. "Secondly, I don't see any reason for a boycott by the Russian athletes because we allow the clean athletes there to participate."

Putin is expected to speak publicly about the ruling in Moscow on Wednesday.

The IOC also suspended the Russian Olympic committee and IOC member Alexander Zhukov.

The IOC also imposed a fine of $15 million on the Russian Olympic committee to pay for investigations into the case and toward future anti-doping work.

The sanctions could be challenged at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The Russian doping program caused "unprecedented damage to Olympism and sports," said IOC-appointed investigator Samuel Schmid, the former president of Switzerland who was asked to verify an "institutional conspiracy."

Russia has repeatedly refused to accept a state-sponsored doping program existed. Such denials helped ensure bans on its track federation and anti-doping agency have not been lifted.