LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) â€� The Russian flag and national anthem have been banned from the Olympics and other major sports events for four years by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).Â
Russia’s hosting of world championships in Olympic sports also face being stripped after the WADA executive committee approved a full slate of recommended sanctions for tampering with a Moscow laboratory database.
Russian athletes will be allowed to compete in major events only if they are not implicated in positive doping tests or their data was not manipulated.Â
Similar to the 2018 Winter Olympics, Russians who have not been implicated in the country’s state-sponsored doping scheme will be allowed to compete in Tokyo as unaffiliated athletes, known simply as “Olympic Athletes from Russia.�
The decision means Russia will have no presence at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games or the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. They will also be barred from most major international competition through 2023, including FIFA’s World Cup, the Youth Olympic Games, Paralympics, world championships and several others that are governed by the World Anti-Doping Code.
