Three more Russian athletes disqualified from Olympics

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday disqualified three more Russian athletes from the Olympics.

In a statement, the IOC said Russian cross-country skiers Yulia Chekaleva and Anastasia Dotsenko, and biathlete Olga Zaytseva broke doping rules in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

The IOC said the trio were now ineligible to be accredited in any capacity for all Olympic events.

"More hearings concerning other athletes will be held over the next few weeks," it added.

Earlier this week, the committee banned eight Russian athletes from the Olympics for life over alleged doping violations.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday said Russia would make every effort to resolve the issue regarding anti-doping investigations.

"We intend to do everything possible to protect the interests of our athletes and for the tension to be overcome," Peskov was quoted as saying by Russia's official news agency TASS.