Russia says its athletes want to compete at the Olympics

MOSCOW — Russian athletes are overwhelmingly in favor of competing at the upcoming Pyeongchang Games despite a ban on the national team, the country’s Olympic committee said Monday. Sofia Velikaya said the Russian Olympic Committee’s athletes’ commission, which she chairs, has heard from “all the athletes in all sports” on the Olympic program, with a majority in favor of competing. Velikaya said no athletes have told the ROC they would rather boycott. “At the current moment, everyone’s training and everyone’s hoping to take part in the Olympics,” Velikaya said.The logo of the Russian Olympic Committee is mounted at the entrance of the head office in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017. The International Olympic Committee has barred the Russian team from competing at