IOC gives Olympic life ban to Russian lawmaker in Sochi case

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach. (Martin Mejia/AP)

LAUSANNE, Switzerland – The IOC says it has banned Russian lawmaker Alexei Voevoda from the Olympics for life for taking part in the 2014 Sochi Olympic doping program.

Voevoda was brakeman for Alexander Zubkov who drove Russia to victory in the two-man and four-man bobsled events.

Those titles were stripped last month when an IOC disciplinary commission disqualified Zubkov. He has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The judging panel later said urine samples from eight Russian bobsledders at Sochi had abnormally high salt levels and there were scratched glass bottles that were tampered with.

As an Olympic champion, Voevoda was elected to the state parliament for the United Russia party representing the Krasnodar region.

The IOC says the panel closed one case of a Russian athlete it did not identify.

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