Flagless Russians expect jump in medal haul at Beijing Games

BEIJING : Stripped of their flag and anthem because of doping sanctions, Russian athletes are set to dominate the podium at the Beijing Olympics in figure skating and cross-country skiing, disciplines that could see them finish near the top of the medal table.

With a delegation of 212 athletes, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) has predicted it will win about 30 medals and finish in the top three in the medal standings.

That would be a significant improvement on the 17 medals won at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games as "Olympic Athletes from Russia."

Russian female figure skaters, led by 15-year-old Kamila Valieva, could sweep the podium as they did at last month's European championships with impressive quadruple jumps.

Valieva holds the record for the highest number of points in the short program, free skate and total score.

Alexandra Trusova, 17, is the first woman to have landed a quadruple Lutz and a quadruple flip in competition.

The third member of the Russian women's team, Anna Scherbakova, is the world champion.

Russian pairs skaters Anastasia Mishina and Alexander Galliamov and ice dancers Viktoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov, world champions in their respective disciplines, are seen as leading contenders for gold.

In the absence of players from North America's National Hockey League (NHL), the ROC is in a strong position to retain the Olympic title. Its roster is filled with players from the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), the best league after the NHL.

In the mountain cluster of Zhangjiakou, cross-country skier Alexander Bolshunov will look to clinch his first Olympic gold medal in his clashes against Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo.

At the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, Bolshunov won three silver medals and one bronze.