Russian doping ban heads to highest court

Russia's four-year Olympic ban for manipulating doping data is heading to sport's highest court.

The World Anti-Doping Agency said on Thursday it has formally referred the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after Russia confirmed last month it will appeal the sanction.

WADA imposed a package of sanctions including banning Russia's name and flag from the Olympics and world championship events in various sports over four years.

There are also restrictions on Russia hosting some major events, and plans to vet Russian athletes who want to compete at major competitions, barring them if they're implicated in doping cover-ups.

The next stage is for WADA and Russia to each select one of the three CAS arbitrators to hear the case. Those two then select a third judge to lead the panel.

The Tokyo Olympics will be the third consecutive edition of the games preceded by a legal battle over Russian doping issues.