Beckie Scott has been on the front lines in this fight longer than most.

On Tuesday, the current anti-doping crusader and former cross-country skier from Alberta was able to claim victory in the wake of unprecedented disciplinary action taken by the International Olympic Committee against Russia.

Russia’s national Olympic committee has been suspended, only Russian athletes who are able to prove themselves tested and clean will be allowed to compete at the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, and only under a neutral designation of OAR, Olympic Athletes of Russia.

The punitive actions, which had been recommended by the World Anti-Doping Agency ahead of the Summer Olympics in 2016 but not enacted, came after an IOC report that confirmed Russia’s systemic manipulation of anti-doping efforts at the 2014 Sochi Games.

“It does feel like a win for the anti-doping movement,” Scott said from Toronto. “This was a recommendation that WADA made before the Rio Games, it was dismissed, and it took a long time to get to this point. Nevertheless we’re here and those of us who have long been advocating for clean athletes and fair sport are encouraged and heartened by today’s decision.

“A day like today really infuses some confidence and restores some faith in the sport bodies and leadership that is controlling and managing sport right now. Athletes lost a lot of trust, and I think they can be encouraged and reinvigorated by today.

“I feel it was positive, it was a step in the right direction and they landed in the right place.”

Which is to say, punishing the guilty for their role in the conspiracy — which included the surreptitious swapping of urine samples, clean for dirty — while allowing individual Russian athletes to prove they are clean and compete in South Korea.

“My hope is that the criteria is strict and standards are very robust and that athletes who go to PyeongChang will go there with confidence that the playing field will be level,” Scott said.

One of those athletes will be Julia Ransom, a Canadian biathlete who has already laid down a personal best ninth-place finish in a World Cup event this year.

“I think it’s a really positive step toward clean sport,” Ransom said in a text message. “I’m happy there is finally some action being taken and hope that it sends a clear message that cheating will not be overlooked.”

There will be no Russian anthem played, nor a Russian flag displayed, should any of the OAR athletes win a medal.

And those victory ceremonies will be scheduled around others to finally honour the athletes who were cheated by Russia out of their legitimate opportunity to stand on the podium in Sochi during the 2014 Olympics.

That’s a facet of the IOC response that surprised and pleased Scott. It also hit home. She finished third in the five-kilometre pursuit at the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002, only to be upgraded to silver and finally to gold after Russian blood dopers Larisa Lazutina and Olga Danilova were stripped of their medals. Scott received her gold medal in Vancouver in 2004, in front of perhaps a couple of hundred people.

“Mostly my family,” she chuckled.

That won’t be the case in PyeongChang.

“I think this is one of the elements of the decision that is particularly inspiring and encouraging for the WADA Athletes Committee,” said Scott, a committee member. “It wasn’t a necessary step for them to take but they went and did it, and it really shows an endorsement and support for clean athletes. I’m really pleased to know that the athletes who were cheated out of their medals in Sochi will have a chance to stand in front of a crowd — of course it won’t be the same as it would have been on the day — but they will be recognized in a big forum among peers and celebrated at the Olympic Games. That’s all good.”

There was also support for the IOC actions from the Canadian Olympic Committee.

“We are encouraged and hopeful that the sanctions announced today by the International Olympic Committee will bring forward positive change for clean and ethical sport,” COC president Tricia Smith said. “The COC has an unshakable belief in playing fairly. We also believe that clean and ethical sport should know no borders, and that agreed-upon standards must be enforced. Sport is only sport when everyone plays by the same rules.”

Ensuring that continues to happen all over the globe is a constant pursuit.

“We have cause to be encouraged today,” Scott said. “It’s a long road ahead still, the fight is never over, but this was a milestone and significant achievement today.”

• Email: dbarnes@postmedia.com | Twitter: @sportsdanbarnes