Russia will participate in Olympics opening ceremony, wear new uniform

Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Russian athletes will participate in the opening ceremony for the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea, Russian officials said Friday.

Russian Olympic Committee President Alexander Zhukov announced on Friday that the athletes will be present at the opening ceremony in PyeongChang -- and will "participate in the parade of athletes under the Olympic flag."

Anastasia Zadorina, the head of ZASPORT outfit design company, told Russia's TASS news agency that the International Olympic Committee has also approved a design for the Russian team uniforms.

The athletes will perform as neutrals, after the IOC suspended Russian athletes over alleged systematic doping.

The Russian athletes will be classified under OAR status, which stands for "Olympic Athletes from Russia."

Because of the athletes' neutral status, Zadorina said Russia had to change their uniforms to meet new requirements.

"In line with the requirements we took off the tricolor, the national emblem and added the required OAR emblem," she said.

The 23rd Winter Games will take place in South Korea from Feb. 9-25.