IOC slams Russia with unprecedented punishment over doping controversy ahead of the 2018 Olympics

Matt Slocum/AP

• The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday slammed Russia over its doping controversy.
• Russia will be barred from the 2018 Olympics, no Russian officials will be allowed at the games, the Russian flag will not be present, and Russia will not be awarded with any medals.
• Some Russian athletes may be invited to compete neutrally under specific circumstances.

The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday handed down an unprecedented punishment to Russia over its doping controversy.

Russia's Olympic team has been barred from the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Government officials will be forbidden from attending, the flag will not be part of the opening ceremony, and records will show Russia didn't win any medals.

Some Russian athletes will be allowed to attend and compete with special exceptions, but they will do so in a neutral uniform, the IOC said.

The decision comes after a 17-month investigation by the IOC into what was deemed to be state-supported doping. It was revealed that Russian officials tampered with and even swapped urine samples, corrupting the testing.

The controversy led to some of Russia's medals at the 2014 Sochi Olympics being stripped and the limiting of some Russian athletes at the 2016 Rio Olympics - a punishment that was criticized as not being severe enough.

IOC President Thomas Bach said of the punishment: "This was an unprecedented attack on the integrity of the Olympic Games and sport. The IOC EB, after following due process, has issued proportional sanctions for this systemic manipulation while protecting the clean athletes. This should draw a line under this damaging episode and serve as a catalyst for a more effective anti-doping system led by WADA."

The IOC said Russian athletes will be invited to PyeonChang at its discretion. The committee said that would be based on qualifying for individual sports and passing several drug tests.

It's unclear how Russia will respond to the punishment. According to The New York Times, Russian officials had threatened a boycott if they were barred from the Olympics.