Reedie issued a statement late Thursday saying McLaren, a long-standing member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport and a member of WADA’s three-person independent commission which exposed wide-spread doping in Russian track and field, would investigate allegations published by CBS’ “60 Minutes” and the New York Times in the relation to the Sochi Olympics.
Advertisement
Adding to the questions over doping, the International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday up to 31 athletes could be banned from Rio 2016 following re-tests using newer methods of doping samples from the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
A WADA report previous year outlined a state-sponsored doping scheme in Russian Federation.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has appointed a Canadian lawyer who helped expose widespread cheating in Russian athletics to oversee the investigation into allegations of state-sponsored doping at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
“If it is found that there have been violations of the World Anti-Doping Code, WADA will ensure that individuals or organizations concerned are dealt with in an appropriate fashion”.
The IOC also ordered some 250 retests from London 2012 this week, the results of which are expected within seven days.
The six-time Olympic champion will race for the eighth time at the Golden Spike meet, part of the IAAF world challenge series.
Bach said Russian athletes would also possibly need to prove they were clean to compete in Rio.
The IOC has asked WADA to carry out a full-fledged investigation and plans to retest Sochi samples stored at the lab in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The Cape Town born athlete will head to Europe in June as he prepares for the Rio Olympics which begins on 5 August.
The allegations have come as a new blow to Russia’s reputation after the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) suspended Russia a year ago over doping accusations.
Advertisement
Dozens of Russian sports people risk being excluded from global competitions, including this summer’s Olympics in Rio, after whistleblowers alleged there was a systematic doping programme operating for years in Russian sport.
