FILE - In this file photo dated Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017, the logo of the Russian Olympic Committee at the entrance of the head office in Moscow, Russia. The International Olympic Committee said Thursday Jan. 25, 2018, that it has obtained new evidence of steroid use in Russian sports, and will be using it to vet Russian athletes ahead of next month’s Winter Olympics.
FILE - In this file photo dated Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017, the logo of the Russian Olympic Committee at the entrance of the head office in Moscow, Russia. The International Olympic Committee said Thursday Jan. 25, 2018, that it has obtained new evidence of steroid use in Russian sports, and will be using it to vet Russian athletes ahead of next month’s Winter Olympics. Pavel Golovkin, FILE AP Photo
FILE - In this file photo dated Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017, the logo of the Russian Olympic Committee at the entrance of the head office in Moscow, Russia. The International Olympic Committee said Thursday Jan. 25, 2018, that it has obtained new evidence of steroid use in Russian sports, and will be using it to vet Russian athletes ahead of next month’s Winter Olympics. Pavel Golovkin, FILE AP Photo

World

IOC confirms 169 Russian athletes invited to Winter Olympics

The Associated Press

January 27, 2018 10:43 AM

LAUSANNE, Switzerland

The IOC says it has invited 169 Russian athletes to compete at the Pyeongchang Olympics.

The number confirms the team size announced Thursday by the suspended Russian Olympic Committee.

The International Olympic Committee did not publish names of which athletes were cleared by two vetting panels of suspicion of doping to go to the Feb. 9-25 Winter Games in South Korea.

The IOC says it chose "from the pool of 389 athletes who could potentially be invited to the games depending on available quota places."

Russia sent 175 athletes to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and 214 to its home 2014 Sochi Olympics which saw orchestrated doping.

The "Olympic Athlete from Russia" team will compete in neutral uniforms. If they win gold in Pyeongchang, the Olympic flag will be flown and the Olympic anthem will play.

The IOC said its vetting involved "intensive weeks of work" and "detailed consideration of each athlete."