The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday announced it was barring the Russian Olympic team from participating in the February 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, as punishment for a state-sponsored doping scheme at the last Winter Games in Sochi. “We have never seen such manipulation and cheating,” IOC disciplinary commission chairman Samuel Schmid told reporters, “and this has caused unprecedented damage to the Olympics and to sports.” The IOC has been investigating doping by Russian athletes and manipulation of doping tests for more than a year, and as a result of its findings issued its most severe penalty ever.
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