Calls for an all-out ban on Russian competitors in the wake of the report were overruled by the IOC, which instead set a number of criteria, including a spotless doping record and sufficient global doping test, for Russians to be cleared to compete in Rio.
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The decision was in response to a recent report by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which produced evidence of a state-run doping scheme in Russian Federation during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and other major sports events.
The build-up to the Rio Games has been dominated by bad news about the city’s readiness for the so-called “greatest show on earth” but the debate about the International Olympic Committee response to the Russian doping crisis has arguably been even more damaging for the future of the Olympics.
The IOC ordered individul federations to decide which Russians should be banned. The IOC has no authority over the testing program of athletes outside the Olympic Games.
Bach’s position received support from most of the speakers during the debate, although some questioned the International Olympic Committee decision to keep Russian whistleblower Yulia Stepanova – an 800-meter runner who helped expose systematic doping in her homeland – out of the games.
The IOC President continued, “The Olympic Movement stands for life and the construction of a better future”. “Leaving aside that such a comparison is completely out of any proportion when it comes to the rules of sport, let us just for a moment consider the consequences of a ‘nuclear option.’ The result is death and devastation”.
Several anti-doping bodies, including the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), as well as those from the United States, Canada and Germany, among others, had called on the International Olympic Committee to implement a blanket ban on all Russian athletes. “This is not what the Olympic movement stands for”.
“I believe that this delay by WADA and the failure to investigate serious and credible allegations more swiftly has left the sports movement … in a very hard position facing incredibly hard decisions in an impossible timeframe”.
WADA president Craig Reedie, who had called for a blanket ban on Russian Federation, is to address the meeting on Wednesday.
“At times WADA has seemed to be more interested in publicity and self-promotion rather than doing its job as a regulator”, Werthein said.
Former member of Russian national football team and “Manchester United”, Andrei Kanchelskis, said in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza that the establishment of a clear and transparent anti-doping system, which will work independently and will be guided by sports principles, is the right solution.
Her request to race had been backed by the IAAF but the IOC’s ethics commission rejected that, a decision Pengilly, and many others, said was unfair and sent a bad message to would-be whistleblowers. “But we need to do a lot more to show we do more about fair play and clean competition”, he said.
Most IOC members endorsed Bach and the decisions, and only one member then did not vote in favour of Bach and the decisions. “It would be in the best interest of all concerned, especially for those who had the courage to speak out”, St Lucia’s Richard Peterkin said.
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“The arrow’s left the bow”, he said. “The decision has been made, it’s not going to be changed between now and the start of the games”.
