The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has stripped Russian bobsleigh athlete Aleksandr Zubkov of two gold medals he won at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and banned him from competition for life.
The IOC announced the decision on November 24, citing the results of failed drugs trusts.
As a result of the decision, Russia fell from first place to third on the gold medals table for the 2014 games, after Norway and Canada. In terms of total medals from 2014, Russia now has 24, beneath the United States, Norway, and Canada.
Zubkov retired from competition in 2014 and is currently the president of the Russian Bobsleigh Federation.
The IOC also banned bobsledder Olga Stulneva and speed skaters Olga Fatkulina and Aleksandr Rumyantsev. Fatkulina was stripped of the silver medal she won in Sochi.
Russian sports have been rocked by doping allegations since 2015, when whistle-blowers presented evidence of widespread doping and cover-ups going back at least to the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
The World Anti-Doping Agency on November 16 ruled not to reinstate the Russian anti-doping agency, RUSADA, after finding it failed to comply with anti-doping mandates. RUSADA was suspended in 2015.
In the wake of that decision, the IOC is set to decide at its executive board meeting from December 5-7 whether Russia and its athletes can participate in the games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, which run from February 9-25.
Anti-doping advocates are pushing for a ban on the whole Russian team, but some say this is unlikely.
More than 100 Russian athletes were banned from last year's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro over failed drug tests. But the rest of the Russian team was allowed to compete under the Russian flag.
