45 Russian Athletes Lose Appeal to Compete in Winter Olympic Games

The Court of Arbitration for Sport announced that 45 Russian athletes lost their appeal to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport announced that 45 Russian athletes and two coaches lost their appeal to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

According to The New York Times' Juliet Macur, the "court ruled that the IOC banned the Russians based on eligibility rules and that the ban didn't equal an additional sanction."

The athletes will not join the other 168 Russians competing on the "Olympic Athletes from Russia" team. The ruling will not affect those 168 athletes already competing under the neutral flag. 

The Winter Games started Thursday with the Opening Ceremony taking place on Friday morning.