Russia threatens to withdraw from Games

In the worst political crisis to hit the Olympic movement since the Cold War, Russia threatened to pull out of the Winter Games on Thursday, saying its team was being victimised by judges.

In a showdown with IOC president Jacques Rogge, Russian officials demanded he address their concerns within 24 hours and warned that Russian president Vladimir Putin was fully behind their protest.

Leonid Tygachev, the president of the Russian Olympic Committee, complained bitterly at "non-objective" decisions by judges and officials in figure skating, ice hockey and cross-country.

"I gave him 24 hours to address the issues," Tygachev said after lengthy talks with Rogge. "You must seriously and objectively treat Russia as a good, clean sports nation ... there is a limit to everybody's patience."

"There should not be political Games, there should be sports games. I said (to Rogge) 'if Russia is not needed in the big sports, we are ready to leave the Olympic village'".

The final straw for the huge Russian team, which has suffered a disappointing Games, came earlier on Thursday when it was forced to withdraw its hotly-fancied team from a women's cross country relay following blood tests.

Tygachev said he wanted the race, won by Germany, re-run because Russia had been unable to replace two athletes who had "blood abnormalities" in time for the race.

VEILED THREAT

He made a veiled threat that Russia could consider breaking away from the Olympic movement with other countries if it did not get satisfaction.

China, Ukraine - who also withdrew its team from Thursday's relay after blood tests - and South Korea had also been "humiliated" at the Games, Tygachev said.

He warned that if Russia pulled out of Salt Lake City, it would be unlikely to go to the Summer Games in Athens in 2004.

The United States boycotted the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow after Russia invaded Afghanistan and the Soviets stayed away from the Los Angeles Games in 1984 in retaliation.

Russian Sports Minister Pavel Rozhkov said the team had been encouraged by Putin in their defiance. "We have been in constant contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"He told us that we must be more forceful and have a much stronger stand in defending our athletes."

Russian officials have repeatedly complained at what they called "a smear campaign" by the North American media and they suspect Olympic organisers of victimising their athletes with their dope testing programme.

Russia, one of the giants of winter sports, has won just five golds and was upset early in the first week of the 17-day Games by the furore over the judging of the pairs figure skating.

PUBLIC OUTCRY

A Russian pair won the gold but after a protest by Canada and a public outcry in North America, the Canadians, who had come second, were awarded duplicate golds.

Favourites Russia and Ukraine pulled out of the women's 4x5 km cross-country relay on Thursday after three athletes showed up abnormalities in blood tests, IOC sources said.

"I was livid," Smirnov said a news conference. "We had a sure gold medal and it was just taken away."

Officials at a news conference said they also believed judges had deliberately tried to make Russia lose Wednesday's quarter-final against world champions Czech Republic, a game the Russians won 1-0. Russia play the U.S. in the semifinals.

Russia played one period with one player down and Smirnov said: "This was with malicious intent."

Later in the news conference Vitali Smirnov, Russia's vice-president in the International Olympic Committee, appeared to draw back from the 24-hour threat but stressed that action had to be taken over the judging.

"There is no ultimatum, not 24 hours or 48 hours."

Russian figure skater Irina Slutskaya is second going into Thursday night's free programme in the women's competition.

SOVIET DOMINATION

On Wednesday, Russia expressed anger at a blood test carried out on biathlon team captain, Pavel Rostovtsev, before his opening race in the 20 kms, when he finished sixth.

Team officials said testers had taken far too much blood from Rostovtsev, destroying his chances of a medal.

On Wednesday night South Korea's Kim Dong-Sung was disqualified from in the 1,500 metres short track speedskating final for impeding American Apolo Anton Ohno, who was given the gold.

To add to Rogge's problems the Koreans announced on Thursday they plan to file a law suit in a United States district court against the referees.

The Soviet Union dominated winter sports from its arrival in the Winter Olympics in 1956 until the break-up of the country.