The International Olympic Committee has banned Russia from competing at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, following a vote Tuesday. Russia, it is reported, won’t quietly digest the IOC’s ban and walk away. Vladimir Putin has said that this is a US attempt to thwart his reelection next year. National TV has vowed not to cover the games. Russia might refuse to permit its athletes to compete as private citizens, a concession the IOC offered to clean Russians.
PUNISHMENT FITS THE CRIME
In Ottawa, Canadian curlers were on the ice as the news broke. The CBC says that Marc Kennedy, who won Olympic gold in Vancouver in 2010 as a member of the Kevin Martin team, said: “This is a punishment that fits the crime but I’m surprised. I didn’t think they would do it. Good for them,” Kennedy said. “It’s been proven it was state-sponsored and they should be punished accordingly. I’m 100 per cent in support of the decision.”
