Vladimir Putin
FILE - A Russian flag is held above the Olympic Rings at Adler Arena Skating Center during the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia on Feb. 18, 2014. Russia and its ally Belarus have been invited to compete at the Asian Games in the next step to qualify athletes for next year’s Paris Olympics. The arrangement has been brokered by the International Olympic Committee. The IOC indicated on Wednesday that it favours allowing Russians to compete at the 2024 Olympics as neutral athletes. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
Russia's path to 2024 Olympics takes shape, Ukraine objects

Jan. 26, 2023 06:08 AM EST

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures during a ceremony to sign the treaties for four regions of Ukraine to join Russia, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. The signing of the treaties making the four regions part of Russia follows the completion of the Kremlin-orchestrated "referendums." (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
IOC's Bach eyes return to sports for anti-war Russians

By Graham Dunbar Sep. 30, 2022 11:31 AM EDT

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and General Secretary of the Russian Boxing Federation, member of the Executive Committee of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) Umar Kremlev attend an opening of the new International Sambo and Boxing centre at the Luzhniki Sports Complex in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Boxing body won't hold new election, damaging Olympic hopes

By Greg Beacham Sep. 25, 2022 04:47 PM EDT

Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) celebrates with the bench after scoring against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Thursday, May 12, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Russians star in NHL playoffs as nation wages war in Ukraine

By Stephen Whyno May. 30, 2022 02:23 AM EDT

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Russian athletes during an awarding ceremony for the Russian Olympic Committee's medalists of the XXIV Olympic Winter Games in Beijing and members of the Russian Paralympic team in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Bach says Russia ban is to protect athletes, not punish them

By Graham Dunbar May. 20, 2022 09:08 AM EDT

Putin backs Russian skater Valieva as she faces doping case

Apr. 26, 2022 12:20 PM EDT
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed support for figure skater Kamila Valieva on Tuesday, saying she did not compete “dishonestly” after her doping case...

FILE - Evgeny Rylov of the Russian Olympic Committee poses with his gold medal for the men's 100-meter backstroke final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. A statement from swimming's world governing body, FINA, on Thursday, April 21, 2022, announced that Rylov has been banned from the sport for nine months for appearing at a rally in support of President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
Russian swimmer Rylov banned for appearing at Putin rally

Apr. 22, 2022 03:39 PM EDT

Russia delegate Alexey Sorokin, right, gestures as speaks to journalists end of the FIFA congress at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha, Qatar, Thursday, March 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Russian appeals against sports bans to be heard by CAS

Apr. 05, 2022 12:12 PM EDT

Madison Chock and Evan Bates, of the United States, perform in the rhythm dance program at the Figure Skating World Championships in Montpellier, south of France, Friday, March 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Papadakis, Cizeron shatter rhythm dance record at worlds

By Dave Skretta Mar. 25, 2022 01:40 PM EDT

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to deliver his speech at the concert marking the eighth anniversary of the referendum on the state status of Crimea and Sevastopol and its reunification with Russia, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 18, 2022. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian Olympians face backlash after Vladimir Putin rally

Mar. 23, 2022 07:26 AM EDT

FILE - From left to right, Dr. Joseph Goebbels, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler, Reichs Sports Leader Hans von Tschammer und Osten and General Field Marschall Werner von Blomberg observe the Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany in August 1936. The International Olympic Committee has always been political, from the sheikhs and royals in its membership to a seat at the United Nations to pushing for peace talks between the Koreas. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine three weeks ago exposed its irreconcilable claims of “political neutrality.” (AP Photo, File)
Russia invasion upends Olympic 'neutrality' — if it existed

By Stephen Wade Mar. 15, 2022 12:07 AM EDT

Fireworks ignite during the closing ceremony at the 2022 Winter Paralympics, Sunday, March 13, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Paralympics close to end Asia's run at center of world sport

Mar. 13, 2022 07:28 AM EDT

Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in the launch of a new ferry via a conference call at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 4, 2022. (Andrei Gorshkov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Column: Russian sports ban unlikely to stop Putin's war

By Paul Newberry Mar. 04, 2022 05:03 PM EST

Artem Pryma of Ukraine, right, tags teammate Dmytro Pidruchnyi during the biathlon 4x6-kilometer mixed relay at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Ukrainian athletes join military after Russian invasion

By James Ellingworth Mar. 02, 2022 06:47 AM EST

A journalist from Ukraine holds a photo of Yevhen Malyshev, a 19-year-old former athlete on Ukraine's junior biathlon team who, according to the International Biathlon Union, died serving the Ukranian military, as he speaks during a press conference at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Russians and Belarusians at the Winter Paralympics in Beijing will compete as "neutral athletes" because of their countries' roles in the war against Ukraine, the International Paralympic Committee said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Heart-wrenching reaction to Russian athletes in Paralympics

By Stephen Wade Mar. 02, 2022 06:34 AM EST

Members of the Russian cross-country ski national team stand outside the Radisson Blu Hotel at Fornebu, Oslo, Tuesday March 1, 2022. Norway challenged a decision by the International Ski Federation to allow Russians to keep competing, and said it would block them from upcoming rounds of the World Cup that Norway hosts this week. (Annika Byrde/NTB scanpix via AP)
Russia excluded from skating as sporting sanctions increase

Mar. 01, 2022 03:43 AM EST

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin touches the World Cup trophy as FIFA President Gianni Infantino stands beside him, at the end of the final match between France and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, July 15, 2018. In a sweeping move to isolate and condemn Russia after invading Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee urged sports bodies on Monday to exclude the country's athletes and officials from international events. The decision opened the way for FIFA, the governing body of soccer, to exclude Russia from a World Cup qualifying playoff match on March 24. Poland has refused to play the scheduled game against Russia.(AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)
Croatia vs France 7/15/2018

Feb. 28, 2022 12:12 PM EST

FILE - The Russian national flag, right, flies after it is hoisted next to the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia on Feb. 23, 2014. The International Olympic Committee has made a sweeping move to isolate and condemn Russia over the country’s invasion of Ukraine. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
Russia facing sports isolation over invasion of Ukraine

By Graham Dunbar Feb. 28, 2022 06:57 AM EST

FILE - A general view of the St. Petersburg Stadium prior to the Confederations Cup soccer match between New Zealand and Portugal, in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 24, 2017. The British government led calls Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022 for the Champions League final to be taken off Russia by European football's governing body to punish its deepening intervention in Ukraine. The showpiece men's game is due to be played in St. Petersburg on May 28 for the biggest sporting event in Russia since the 2018 World Cup.(AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, file)
Euro backlash as FIFA refuses to expel Russia from football

By Rob Harris Feb. 27, 2022 05:53 AM EST

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Feb. 4, 2022, in Beijing. Putin and leaders before him have tried to cultivate an image of a prosperous country fortified by strong athletes who beat their international opponents in the games people play. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
World judo body suspends Putin as its honorary president

Feb. 27, 2022 05:16 AM EST