Russian doping: IOC bans five more Winter Olympic athletes

Romanova (second left) and Vilukhina (far right) won silver in the biathlon relay at Sochi 2014

Five more Russian athletes have been banned from the Olympics for life as a result of the International Olympic Committee's investigations into the country's doping scandal.

Sergei Chudinov, Aleksei Negodailo, Dmitry Trunenkov, Yana Romanova and Olga Vilukhina have all been punished.

The IOC announced the first Russian bans, based on the findings of the 2016 McLaren report, on 1 November.

On Monday, it published a full decision on one of the bans for the first time.

In it, the IOC's disciplinary commission described the "puzzle" of investigating something that was "by nature and purpose elusive".

The McLaren report said Russian athletes benefited from a state-sponsored doping programme between 2011 and 2015, speaking of "a cover-up that evolved from uncontrolled chaos to an institutionalised and disciplined medal-winning conspiracy".

In explaining its decision to punish Alexander Legkov, one of two Russian skiers banned on 1 November, the IOC said the athlete had "sought to argue that no evidence could be drawn from the McLaren report" but it had "come to a different conclusion".

It said the authority of the report's author, Professor Richard McLaren, was "unquestionable" and it "can and will rely" on its findings.

• Russia remains non-compliant, says Wada

• McLaren report: How a doping scandal unfolded

• What did the McLaren report say?

Negodailo and Trunenkov were members of Russia's four-man bobsleigh team that won gold at Sochi 2014.

Romanova and Vilukhina won silver in the biathlon relay, while Vilukhina won silver in the 7.5km event.

Nineteen Russian athletes have now been suspended from the Olympics for life since 1 November.

The latest bans come with the IOC set to rule on whether Russia will be allowed to compete at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, which begin on 9 February.

The IOC will announce its decision at its next meeting, scheduled to begin on 5 December.

Russian Sochi Olympians banned

Gold medallists

Alexander Legkov, 50km cross country

Aleksei Negodailo, four-man bobsleigh

Aleksandr Tretiakov, skeleton

Dmitry Trunenkov, four-man bobsleigh

Aleksandr Zubkov, two-man and four-man bobsleigh

Silver medallists

Olga Fatkulina, 500m speed skating

Yana Romanova, biathlon relay

Olga Vilukhina, biathlon relay and 7.5km biathlon

Maksim Vylegzhanin, 50km cross country

Men's 4x10km cross country

Men's team sprint classic cross country

Bronze medallists

Elena Nikitina, women's skeleton

Others

Evgeniy Belov, cross country

Yuliia Ivanova, cross country

Sergei Chudinov, skeleton

Alexey Petukhov, cross country

Evgeniya Shapovalova, cross country

Maria Orlova, skeleton

Olga Potylitsyna, skeleton

Olga Stulneva, bobsleigh

Alexander Rumyantsev, speed skater