Russia will stay in the Winter Olympics out of respect for its men's ice hockey team who play the United States in the semi-final today, the president of the Russian Olympic Federation said. The Russian delegation threatened yesterday to boycott the Games after alleging bias in Olympic judging standards, principally in skating.
But Russian Olympic Committee chief Leonid Tyagachev told Itar-Tass that the squad would stay in Salt Lake City "out of respect for the ice hockey team", who are due to contest their semi-final against the Americans later on Friday.
Tyagachev said a letter sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge was "respectful", but noted that Rogge was defending "the position of the IOC".
Putin threw his weight behind the bias allegations on Friday, saying: "Certain things surprise us and not only with regard to Russian athletes." The Russians threatened to pull out when nordic skier Larissa Lazutina was banned from a relay event after failing a blood test.
And Russian officials filed an official protest following Irina Slutskaya's second place finish to Sarah Hughes of the United States in the women's figure skating final yesterday.
That came just days after the "skate-gate" vote-rigging scandal that erupted in the first week of the Games in the pairs competition was resolved when a second gold medal was awarded to the Canadian pair who placed second.