The head of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) has said he does not rule out a bid to host the 2028 Summer Olympic Games, despite doping scandals that rocked his country in 2016.
Speaking in Moscow on January 13, ROC President Aleksandr Zhukov said St. Petersburg, Kazan, or the southern resort city of Sochi could make a bid for the 2028 games.
"It is hard to say now," Zhukov said. "But why not? I think it is perfectly possible to try."
The International Olympic Committee is expected to make a decision on where those games will be held in 2021.
The doping scandals prevented many Russian athletes from participating in the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro.
Last month, Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren issued a report for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that found massive doping involving more than 1,000 Russian athletes in 30 sports since at least 2011.
The illicit activity allegedly spanned the 2012 Olympics in London, the 2013 World Athletic Championships, and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Speaking about the London games, McLaren said "the Russian team corrupted [them] on an unprecedented scale, the extent of which will probably never be fully established."
Russia has admitted to doping, but has denied there was an organized, state-sponsored program.
On January 11, a group of 19 national anti-doping groups called for a ban on Russia's participation in all international sporting events until it can show it has credible systems in place to prevent doping.
