Although, the IOC did lay down the criteria that must be met by athletes who want to compete in the Olympic Games, including, “an individual analysis of each athlete’s anti-doping record, taking into account only reliable adequate global tests”.
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Evidence of widespread doping in Russian track and field was provided by 800-meter runner Stepanova, who hoped to compete in Rio as an independent athlete.
Head of the Russia’s Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, Irina Viner-Usmanova, called the ruling “wise”, and thanked IOC, Thomas Bach, for being “a true athlete, Olympian and champion”.
“The exact implication for the Russian Swimming Federation is still to be clarified”, the statement continued. And that’s the biggest reason why Russian athletes – at least some of them – will march in opening ceremonies less than two weeks from now in Brazil.
Russian officials breathed a collective sigh of relief at the news.
Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, Russia’s former antidoping lab director, told The New York Times about an elaborate orchestrated doping program that included providing anabolic steroid cocktails to athletes and working with Russia’s intelligence service, the FSB, to tamper with testing samples.
“It speaks to the conflicts of interest that the International Olympic Committee has and their inability to really stand up and be a leader for athletes and clean sport”.
No, it’s not. It’s about the corrupt country that will now compete at the Rio Olympic Games.
“Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics”.
“I think it’s a pretty hypocritical attitude.it’s not for nothing that (IOC) president Bach – already six, seven, eight months ago, before we know all these problems – has announced that he wants a totally different structure for anti doping because this doesn’t work”.
Banning a corrupt sports system, when that system puts money and plenty of it in the IOC’s coffers, was always a long shot. They need to say “This is serious”. The IOC had a chance to take a stand, to defend both its principles and the people who abide by them.
Leading Kiwi rower Eric Murray, a favourite to achieve back-to-back golds in the men’s coxless pair with Hamish Bond in Rio, took to Twitter to vent his frustration.
While the IOC expressed its gratitude to Stepanova, it said that she doped as well, so the circumstances “do not satisfy the ethical requirements for an athlete to enter the Olympic Games”.
WADA president Craig Reedie said the organization is “disappointed that the IOC did not heed WADA’s executive committee recommendations” after investigators “exposed, beyond a reasonable doubt, a state-run doping program in Russian Federation that seriously undermines the principles of clean sport”.
The complex banning system will run against a rapidly ticking clock with the Games set to start on August 5.
“So these people now shout to the International Olympic Committee. and say they [Russia] should be given a blanket ban, they caused the problem”.
“An ITF statement said: “[We] believe it is right that clean athletes are permitted to compete in Rio 2016 and look forward to welcoming the Russian tennis players, along with all other nominated athletes, to Rio”.
Russian officials and government officers have said the doping allegations are part of a Western conspiracy against their country.
Russian athletes will be able to compete if they can prove to their International Federation (IF) that they have a clean doping record.
Olympic leaders stopped short of imposing a blanket ban on Russia, allowing individual sports federations to decide who could compete.
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In defence of his board’s decision, Bach said: “We have reversed the presumption of innocence for Russian athletes, making them assume collective responsibility”.
