MOSCOW — The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) agreed unanimously on Tuesday to support Russian athletes who choose to compete in next year's Winter Games in South Korea.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) last week banned Russia from the Games, due to take place in Pyeongchang in February, for what it called "unprecedented systematic manipulation" of the anti-doping system. But it left the door open for athletes to compete as neutrals if they have a clean history of not doping.
President Vladimir Putin said last week Russia would not prevent its athletes from competing, dismissing calls by some for a boycott, and an ROC official said on Monday most Russian athletes still wanted to attend.
The Russian committee met to agree its position on Pyeongchang at a meeting on Tuesday attended by sporting figures including the national men's hockey team, figure skaters, speed skaters and the presidents of winter sports federations.
Announcing the decision, ROC President Alexander Zhukov said: "All participants were of the same opinion — our sportsmen need to go to Korea, need to compete, achieve victory for the glory of Russia, for the glory of our motherland."
Zhukov said Russia would do its best to support Russian athletes competing under a neutral flag and hold serious talks with the IOC in the near future to discuss the problems and practicalities of the arrangement
"Russian sportsmen have stated their readiness to take part in the Olympic Games, despite the difficult conditions and decision of the IOC, which is undoubtedly unfair in many ways," he said.
In the weeks leading up to the IOC ban, more than 20 Russian athletes who competed at the 2014 Sochi Games were banned for life from the Olympics for allegedly violating anti-doping rules.
Russia has repeatedly said there was no state-sponsored doping system in the country.
S.Korea conducts anti-terror drills
Set to host the Winter Olympics in February, South Korea conducted a series of security drills on Tuesday to prepare against terror attacks ranging from a hostage situation, a vehicle ramming a stadium and a bomb-attached to a drone.
Police and firemen were among around 420 personnel participating in the exercise, held in front of the Olympic Stadium at Pyeongchang, just 80 km (50 miles) from the heavily fortified border with North Korea.
During the simulated drills, members of a SWAT team shot down a drone with a bomb attached that was flying toward a bus carrying athletes.
In another part of the mock exercise a terrorist took hostage athletes on a bus, and tried to ram the vehicle into the stadium before being gunned down by police. Officers in gas masks also removed a chemical bomb.
Anxiety on the Korean Peninsula has been rising in recent months due to a series of missile tests by North Korea as it continues its pursuit of nuclear weapons in defiance of U.N. sanctions and warnings from the United States.
"Please keep in mind that accidents always happen where no one has expected," South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said. "Please check until the last minute whether there are any security loopholes."
Lee did not mention North Korea, but South Korea's Defense Ministry on Friday flagged risks that North Korea could resort to terrorist or cyber attacks to spoil international events. Some 5,000 armed forces personnel will be deployed at the Winter Games, according to South Korean government officials and documents reviewed by Reuters.
Pyeongchang’s organizing committee for the 2018 Games (POCOG) has also hired a private cyber security company to guard against a hacking attack from the North, tender documents show.
To minimize the risk of provoking an aggressive North Korean reaction during the games, South Korea has asked Washington to delay regular joint military exercises until after the Olympics, the Financial Times reported. A spokesman for South Korea's defense ministry said on Tuesday that nothing has been decided. — Reuters
