SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 22: In the worst political crisis to hit the Olympic movement since the Cold War, Russia threatened to pull out of the Winter Games Thursday, saying its team was being victimised by judges and officials.

In a showdown with IOC president Jacques Rogge, Russian team chiefs demanded he address their concerns within 24 hours and warned that Russian president Vladimir Putin was fully behind their protest.

Leonid Tygachev, the president of the Russian Olympic Committee, complained bitterly at “non-objective” decisions in figure skating, ice hockey and cross-country skiing.

“I gave him 24 hours to address the issues,” Tygachev said of his lengthy talks with Rogge. “You must seriously and objectively treat Russia as a good, clean sports nation ... there is a limit to everybody’s patience.”

Since the Russian news conference, Rogge has written to Putin to reassure him the IOC understands Russian emotions over the issue, IOC director general Francois Carrard said.

But Rogge, in charge of the IOC only since July, stressed he had checked with the heads of the international federations concerned and he was convinced the actions of sports officials were “absolutely correct”.

The final straw for the huge Russian team, which has suffered a disappointing Games, came earlier on Thursday when it was forced to withdraw its hotly-fancied team from a women’s cross country relay following blood tests.

Tygachev said he wanted the race, won by Germany, re-run because Russia had been unable to replace two athletes who had “blood abnormalities” in time for the race. But Carrard appeared to rule out a re-run.

Later, in another close competition on the ice rink after the controversial pairs, Sarah Hughes of the US came from fourth after the short programme to win the women’s gold.

She pushed Russian Irina Slutskaya into second place and favourite Michelle Kwan, the “face” of the Games, into third.

Speaking with cold fury, Tygachev made a veiled threat that Russia could consider breaking away from the Olympic movement with other countries if it did not get satisfaction.

China, Ukraine - who also withdrew its team from Thursday’s relay after blood tests - and South Korea had also been “humiliated” at the Games, Tygachev said.

He warned that if Russia pulled out of Salt Lake City, it would be unlikely to go to the Summer Games in Athens in 2004.

The United States boycotted the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow after Russia invaded Afghanistan and the Soviet bloc stayed away from the Los Angeles Games in 1984 in retaliation.

Russian Sports Minister Pavel Rozhkov said the team had been encouraged by Putin in their defiance. “We have been in constant contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Wednesday night South Korea’s Kim Dong-sung was disqualified in the 1,500 metres short track speedskating final for impeding American Apolo Anton Ohno, who was given the gold.

To add to Rogge’s problems the Koreans announced on Thursday they planned to file a law suit in a United States district court against the referees of the final and they threatened to boycott the closing ceremony.

One of the giants of winter sports, Russia has won just five golds and was upset early in the first full week of the 17-day Games by the furore over the judging of the pairs competition.

A Russian pair won the gold. But after a protest by Canada and a public outcry in North America, the Canadians, who had come second, were awarded duplicate golds.

The IOC’s decision increased a feeling in the Russian camp that they were the object of “a smear campaign” by the North American media. They also suspect Olympic organisers of victimising their athletes with their dope testing programme.

Favourites Russia and Ukraine pulled out of the women’s 4x5 km cross-country relay on Thursday after three athletes showed up abnormalities in blood tests, IOC sources said.

Officials at a news conference said they also believed judges had deliberately tried to make Russia lose Wednesday’s quarter-final against world champions Czech Republic, a game the Russians won 1-0.

Russia played one period with one player down and Smirnov said: “This was with malicious intent.”

Meanwhile, on the slopes and away from the controversy, Austrian Stephan Eberharter finally won a gold medal in the giant slalom, the oldest man to claim an Alpine ski Olympic title at 32.

Canada’s women beat the Americans 3-2 to win the ice hockey gold and Russia have a powerful point to prove when they play the US in the men’s ice hockey semifinals on Friday.