Russian Bobsled Federation president Alexandr Zubkov and top skeleton athlete Aleksandr Tretiakov should not be suspended by the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation for now, according to an independent panel that contends they were not treated fairly in the investigation of state-sponsored doping surrounding the Sochi Olympics.
The three-person panel for the IBSF reached its conclusions after concluding that the acceptance of testimony by former Moscow and Sochi laboratory director Grigory Rodchenkov may have happened in violation of international law.
Rodchenkov, who is living in the United States under FBI protection as a cooperating witness, told World Anti-Doping Association investigator Richard McLaren about the doping conspiracy — a key part of the report that eventually led to the International Olympic Committee not only banning several Russian athletes from future games but also not permitting Russia and its sports leaders from the upcoming Pyeongchang Games.