Russian doping: Cas to hear 42 appeals against lifetime Olympic bans

Bobsledder Aleksandr Zubkov was the flag bearer for Russia in Sochi

The Court of Arbitration for Sport will consider the appeals of 42 Russian athletes against their lifetime Olympic bans following doping offences at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the first Russian bans, based on the findings of the 2016 McLaren report, on 1 November.

In total, 43 Russian athletes have been banned from the Olympics for life.

Cas expects a final decision for each case on or before 31 January.

This year's Winter Olympics in South Korea begin on 9 February.

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The IOC banned Russia from competing at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in December.

Russian athletes who can prove they are clean will be allowed to compete in South Korea under a neutral flag. But athletes must not have been disqualified or declared ineligible for any violation of anti-doping rules.

Sochi 2014 gold medallists Alexander Legkov (cross-country skiing), Aleksei Negodailo (bobsleigh), Aleksandr Tretiakov (skeleton), Dmitry Trunenkov (bobsleigh) and Aleksandr Zubkov (bobsleigh) are among the 42 athletes to have appealed against their bans.

Bobsleigh's Maxim Belugin is the only banned athlete not have lodged an appeal.

Great Britain's four-man bobsleigh team will also learn whether they are to receive a retrospective Olympic bronze medal from Sochi 2014 when Cas makes its ruling.

The British four-man team - led by pilot John Jackson - initially finished fifth at the Sochi Games, but could be upgraded to bronze after the IOC disqualified the two Russian sleds - who finished first and fourth - after re-examining the doping tests conducted at the time.