The immediate reaction from many athletes after the International Olympic Committee’s decision was this: Will Russia compete at all?
Russia was likely to be a medal factor in Pyeongchang in several sliding sports, primarily men’s bobsled, men’s skeleton, women’s skeleton and men’s luge.
U.S. veteran luger Chris Mazdzer said many Russians on the World Cup circuit had told him in recent weeks that they expected a full ban, and he’s wondering if President Vladimir Putin could decide to boycott.
“Putin could just say, ‘You can’t compete,’ and they won’t,” Mazdzer said.