Russian doping bans continue, more cases coming

More Russian doping cases from the 2014 Sochi Games are on the way, the International Olympic Committee said Friday as it banned three more athletes from the country.

The IOC said its commission is dealing with 36 cases related to doping by Russia at the Sochi Olympics, eight more than previously acknowledged.

Of that total, 25 athletes have now been banned — including the three in Friday's rulings — and one has been cleared, figure skater Adelina Sotnikova.

"As some investigations are still ongoing [notably the forensic analysis of the bottles], it cannot be excluded that there might be new elements that would justify opening further new cases," the IOC said in a statement.

The three banned Friday include Olga Zaitseva, who won silver in the women's biathlon relay in 2014. That medal, however, has already been stripped because teammate Olga Vilukhina was banned on Monday.

Zaitseva remains one of the most successful Russian biathletes in Olympic history, with two gold medals and a silver medal from previous games. She will keep those medals because the ruling only applies to the 2014 Games, not the 2006 and 2010 Olympics.

Cross-country skiers Anastasia Dotsenko and Yulia Chekaleva were also banned Friday. Neither won a medal.

The IOC started its investigations last year after World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren detailed a vast Russian program of doping and coverups, including tampering with samples at the Sochi laboratory.

U.S. bobsledder hit with 2-year ban

U.S. bobsledder Ryan Bailey was banned for two years for what he contends was an inadvertent doping violation, ending the former track and field medallist 's bid to compete in the PyeongChang Olympics.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport publicly announced the ruling Friday, agreeing with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's stance that a six-month ban Bailey served earlier this year was not enough.

Bailey was part of the U.S. team that won a silver medal in the 4x100-metre relay at the London Games in 2012. That medal was stripped years later following the doping conviction of relay teammate Tyson Gay. Bailey, still angry about forfeiting that silver, turned to bobsleigh last year with hopes of getting back to the Olympics.

"I feel terrible for the guy," said U.S. bobsled driver Nick Cunningham, who was racing with Bailey this season and won a World Cup silver medal with him last month in Lake Placid, N.Y. "He pretty much has to go through it twice. He was cleared and was extremely close to the Olympic Games and now has to go through it all over again. All that hard work for nothing."