With Russia facing a renewed ban on sending a national team to the Olympics, the country's anti-doping chief said there needs to be "deep reforms" in Russia's sports policies. "It will probably take another generation," Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) Director Yury Ganus told dpa. The athletes "are hostages to mistakes for which sports officials in this country are guilty [of]," he said.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said last week that it would decide on Dec. 9 whether Russia should be banned for four years from international competitions. Over the past half-decade, Russia has struggled with allegations of widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs among its top athletes.