Russia says Ahn among top athletes barred from Pyeongchang

Moscow: The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) says speed skater Viktor Ahn, a six-time Olympic gold medallist, is among several top Russian athletes barred from the upcoming Pyeongchang Olympics amid the country’s ongoing doping scandal.

The ROC says Ahn, as well as cross-country skier Sergei Ustyugov and biathlete Anton Shipulin — both reigning world champions — have been left out of an International Olympic Committee pool of eligible athletes.

ROC vice president Stanislav Pozdnyakov says in a statement that he discovered the absences during negotiations with IOC officials on Monday and has asked the IOC to explain why they were not included.

Ahn, a short-track speed skater, won three gold medals for South Korea at the 2006 Olympics before switching allegiances to Russia in the run-up to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where he won three more. (AP)