Flying Russian flag means more than medals: team boss

Pyeongchang: Proudly flying the Russian flag at the conclusion of the Pyeongchang Winter Games will be worth more than winning medals as neutral athletes, a Russian Olympic official said on Sunday when questioned about the team’s lacklustre performance.

Russian athletes are banned from competing for their country at the Games due to allegations of systematic doping. They are sitting 19th in the medals table, having so far won three silver and seven bronze medals. “We don’t have the issue of fighting for the first place as a team,” said Stanislav Pozdnyakov, chief of mission for the “Olympic Athletes of Russia” contingent.