IOC restores Russia's Olympic membership

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) has said that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) fully 'restored' his organisation's membership after suspending them over doping allegation from 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

ROC president Alexander Zhukov welcomed the IOC's "important" decision.

"The Russian Olympic Committee has had its rights fully restored.It's a decision of the utmost importance for us," the Guardian quoted Zhukov as saying.

A team of "cleaned" Russians competed as a part of a neutral 'Olympic athlete from Russia' (OAR) team at the recently-concluded 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics after the IOC suspended Russia in December, saying that the country had engaged in "unprecedented systematic manipulation" at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Just a few hours ahead of the opening ceremony of the Winter Games on February 29, all 45 Russian athletes and two coaches had lost their appeals against the IOC's decision to bar them from participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

The OAR team was the third biggest team at the Games, finishing with 17 medals, including two golds.