WADA has subsequently urged a total ban on Russian athletes competing in the Olympics.
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The Canadian said he had come across strong evidence that the Russian sports ministry had hushed up more than a hundred positive drug tests among its athletes for the London Olympics in 2012, the World Athletics Championships in Moscow in 2013, and the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014. “We didn’t have any investigative powers or experience until the independent commission from previous year reported and now we have a further one that has drilled even deeper, so I think we have a capacity to not only investigate but conclude investigations as we go forward”.
IAAF ethics commission bans for life Balakhnichev and Pape Massata Diack over bribes taken to cover up doping failures by Russian athletes.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is now deliberating a total ban on Russian athletes at the competition, following a damning report on state-backed doping from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
The Russian appeal of the track ban was heard by a CAS panel on Tuesday in Geneva, with two-time Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva on hand to represent the athletes.
Despite Russian political rhetoric, this is not a “political” issue – it is a matter of tawdry, organized, cheating in sport.
President of Russia’s Olympic Committee Alexander Zhukov opens the meeting of Russia’s Olympic Committee in Moscow, Wednesday, July 20, 2016.
The IOC has said it is seeking legal advice over a blanket ban for the Russian team but Thompson is calling for action.
Thursday’s decision will also greatly influence the International Olympic Committe’s judgment on the eligibility of the rest of the Russian athletes.
“We are waiting for the CAS decision”. The IOC executive board said in reaction Tuesday it would explore the “legal options” for a complete ban on Russian athletes at the Rio Games.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a statement mixing acceptance, defiance and denial, claiming the report is based on “the testimony of one man with a scandalous reputation”, and questioning whether McLaren’s findings can be “weighty and trustworthy”.
Zhukov said his committee did not discuss the McLaren report at its meeting, although he also did not rule out legal action if Russian Federation is hit with a total ban from the games. he Court of Arbitration for Sport will issue its verdict Thursday on Russia’s appeal to overturn the IAAF ban on its track and field athletes for the games.
McLarens report also confirmed details of state-supported doping that subverted the testing at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. Yes, this intervention takes different forms today, but the essence remains the same; to make sport an instrument for geopolitical pressure and use it to form a negative image of countries and peoples.
While putting off a decision on banning Russia, the executive board announced a series of measures to punish Russian athletes and officials implicated in doping.
Mr Bach added the International Olympic Committee “will not hesitate” to take “the toughest sanctions available” against any individual or organisation implicated.
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“This can only be achieved through the collective sanctioning (of athletes, officials and organisations) that has been recommended”.
