Canadian cross-country skier Devon Kershaw was floored by the International Olympic Committee鈥檚 crackdown on Russia because he had zero faith anything would happen.

The IOC punished Russia on Tuesday for the widespread evidence of state-sponsored doping at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, banning the country from competing in February鈥檚 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Athletes from Russia who prove they鈥檙e clean can participate as 鈥渘eutrals鈥� without the Russian flag and anthem, the IOC said.

鈥淚鈥檓 flabbergasted that the IOC did anything,鈥� Kershaw told The Canadian Press from Norway. 鈥淚 mean, look at their track record.

鈥淚鈥檇 pretty much lost all faith in the IOC.鈥�

The three-time Olympian had led the charge for Canada鈥檚 first Olympic medal in men鈥檚 cross-country skiing for over a decade, finishing fourth in team sprint with teammate Alex Harvey at the 2010 Vancouver Games. A Russian duo won gold that year.

鈥淭hose moments that were robbed, you don鈥檛 get them back and it doesn鈥檛 feel good to sit here and talk to you and think about were they doing something like that in Vancouver, when I was fourth? Probably,鈥� the 34-year-old from Sudbury, Ont., said.

鈥淭hat stinks because that was the prime of my career. Before my facial hair was grey.鈥�

How the IOC鈥檚 punishment of Russia will impact Canada鈥檚 medal count in Pyeongchang is unclear because of the myriad of ways this could play out.

Russian president Vladimir Putin might not allow any athletes to compete as neutrals, which equates to a boycott.

Who will be allowed to compete as a neutral has yet to be determined. Athletes already banned can still appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

No official from Russia鈥檚 ministry of sport will get accreditation for Pyeongchang and no coach or doctor found to have committed an anti-doping violation can be invited, according to the sanctions released Tuesday.

Kershaw believes Russia鈥檚 sport leaders should bear responsibility for what happened in Sochi and the subsequent fallout.

鈥淚t鈥檚 easy in Canada to point fingers and say 鈥榯he athletes should know better鈥� but travel to Russia and see the living conditions these kids are growing up in,鈥� Kershaw explained.

鈥淭hey make the national team 鈥� and then they come into this incredibly corrupt system with a bunch of coaches that have been there since, I don鈥檛 know, World War II?

鈥淭hey have so much power over the athletes compared to the western culture. If you speak up, you鈥檙e on the next bus to Siberia.鈥�

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But Calgary curler Chelsea Carey was less forgiving. She wasn鈥檛 completely comfortable allowing Russian athletes to compete as neutrals.

鈥淗ow am I supposed to be convinced that they鈥檙e clean when every day there is a new scandal about a Russian athlete from Sochi who wasn鈥檛 clean?鈥� Carey asked at the Olympic trials in Ottawa.

鈥淚t鈥檚 tough as an athlete when you are following the rules and are doing what you鈥檙e supposed to do.

鈥淚鈥檓 glad that there is a sanction. They certainly needed to be punished for what they did. I think that the athletes have some liability there that they鈥檙e not necessarily being held to, which is too bad.鈥�

Former Canadian cross-country skier Beckie Scott has been an anti-doping advocate since her bronze medal in 2002 was upgraded to silver and then gold because athletes ahead of her were disqualified for doping.

The chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency鈥檚 athletes committee says the IOC struck a balance between punishing those responsible and protecting clean athletes.

鈥淚t was the furthest they could go in terms of levelling a sanction and consequences for what became known about Russia and their doping system,鈥� Scott said.

鈥淭he system is being punished 鈥� the conspiracy is being addressed and sanctioned and if there are clean athletes who can prove they鈥檙e clean, they still have a chance to compete.鈥�

Six-time Olympic hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser, who was elected to the IOC athletes鈥� commission in 2014, aligns with Kershaw in placing the blame Russia鈥檚 sport leaders and not the athletes.

鈥淭here are no winners in today鈥檚 decision,鈥� she said in a statement. 鈥淚t is not lost on many clean athletes that Russian athletes who were part of this system may have had no choice but to comply.

鈥淚t is also commendable and important to see harsher sanctions towards officials and entourage. The evidence overwhelmingly shows the power and influence these people took to control athletes and their outcomes.鈥�

The Canadian Olympic Committee told the IOC in October to impose 鈥渋mmediate and meaningful sanctions鈥� on Russia ahead of the 2018 Winter Games.

鈥淭he Canadian team will have the confidence that they鈥檙e competing on a level playing field,鈥� COC president Tricia Smith said Tuesday.

鈥淭his decision is critical in terms of the sanctions it took not just against the athletes, but to those who were responsible and in charge, morally and contractually.鈥�

The Canadian government supported the IOC鈥檚 punitive measures against Russia.

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鈥淲e support the International Olympic Committee鈥檚 decision to ban Russia from participating in the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, ensuring a clean competition,鈥� Canadian Sport Minister Kent Hehr said in a statement.

鈥淚 am confident that the IOC, the respective international sport federations and the World Anti-Doping Agency will collaborate with the Russian authorities to apply the appropriate corrective measures.鈥�

- Canadian Press reporter Greg Strong contributed to this story.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press

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