Olympics chief Thomas Bach called for a complete overhaul of the global anti-doping system on Tuesday after revelations of state-backed cheating by Russian Federation rocked preparations for the Rio Games.
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Facing widespread criticism over the International Olympic Committee board’s decision not to impose a blanket ban on Russian athletes from competing in Rio after doping allegations, Bach opened the meeting by putting the move to a vote by the organization’s members.
Bach won support from all but one of the IOC’s 85 members – British IOC Athletes’ Commission member Adam Pengilly, who is soon to stand down from the position – in a show of hands.
Individual sports federations have been left to decide whether or not Russians should compete after state sponsored doping was revealed. Bach rejected the “nuclear option” of ordering a complete ban on Russian athletes over accusations of widespread state-organised doping.
“The result is death and devastation”, he said at the morning session.
Given the IOC President’s growing reputation for suppressing dissent, and given the huge internal powers at his disposal, the potential downside of a No vote for members with ambitions to get ahead in the Movement, or most effectively to advance the Olympic cause of their countries and athletes, was very considerable.
What is not acceptable is the insinuation (by) some proponents of the blanket ban that those who do not share their opinions are not fighting against doping.
But the overwhelming impression gained from listening to the IOC members who spoke during the debate on the Russian doping crisis was that the Olympic movement places the blame for what has happened squarely at WADA’s door.
It follows last month s report by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren for WADA, which said Russia s sports ministry and secret services evaded drug testers by switching samples at Russian laboratories.
Underling the deep split between Olympic leaders and anti-doping officials, Bach said it was WADA – not the IOC – that was responsible for doping problems in Russian Federation.
“It is not the IOC which can be held responsible for alleged corruption between the leadership of an global federation and a national member federation to cover up doping”.
“With the Olympic Games just a few days away, we had to take action even though the McLaren report is not yet finished and the Russian side has not been heard yet”.
According to the International Olympic Committee, there will be be 4,500 urine tests and 1,000 blood tests conducted during the August 5-21 Games.
Alex Gilady, of Israel, told fellow International Olympic Committee members: “Already in 2010 the whistleblower came to WADA. The IOC president says it is tough and that I have to believe it will work”, he said.
But Argentine member Gerardo Werthein said it was WADA that had failed, saying the organisation was more interested in self-promotion.
WADA president Craig Reedie largely took the comments in his stride but he insisted the anti-doping body wasn’t in as bad a shape as some delegates had suggested.
“I urge you to resist this unprecedented pressure that is now on the entire Olympic movement and not to let this pressure to split the entire Olympic family”, he said. Pound, the first WADA president, was also critical of the vote conducted by Bach.
WADA said it set up a commission headed by Dick Pound to investigate allegations of systematic doping made in a documentary by German broadcaster ARD in December 2014.
USA member Larry Probst said it was wrong to attribute the problem to “international politics”.
Reedie said he had received assurances from officials at high levels of the Russian Federation government that they accept they have a problem and need to fix it.
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“This decision is about justice”, Bach said during the opening ceremony of the IOC’s general assembly on Monday.
