None of the 24 Russian athletes who were stripped of their titles after the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games have ever returned their medals, the head of Russia's Olympic Committee (ROC) has announced.
All of the athletes were disqualified after being found guilty of taking performance-enhancing drugs.
Five of the medallists were disqualified in the immediate aftermath of the London and Beijing Games, while a further 18 were stripped of their titles during standard sample retesting.
ROC chief Alexander Brilliantov was quizzed on the subject after news broke that Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt had given up his medal for the 2012 4x100 relay. Bolt returned the prize when his teammate Nesta Carter failed a drug test.
“None of the Russian sportspeople whose results have been annulled by the IOC have followed Bolt's example and returned their medals,” he told Russia's TASS news agency.
Ten Russian medallists were disqualified after the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, while 14 have been stripped of titles from the 2008 Beijing Games. Sixteen of those involved were participating in athletic competitions.
Russia's Olympians have been under heavy scrutiny after a report by the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) alleged that the Kremlin had carried out a widespread doping program for its athletes.
The country's entire athletics team was barred from competing in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro, although Russian long jumper Darya Klishina was cleared to compete under a neutral flag.
The Russian government has denied all allegations, dismissing the claims as “political.”
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