Officials expect to make the announcement the week of August 1.
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“The IPC would like to sincerely thank Richard McLaren for his report which was delivered against an incredibly tight timeline and for the swift turnaround of the additional information we requested from him on Monday”.
The IPC decried a “prevailing doping culture endemic within Russian sport at the very highest levels” and said the country’s Paralympic body “appears unable or unwilling to ensure compliance with and the enforcement” of anti-doping measures.
The IOC’s executive board are to hold a conference call on Sunday to discuss barring Russian Federation from the Olympics starting on August 5 over bombshell doping revelations.
According to an independent report from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Russia’s sports ministry directed a vast doping programme with support from the FSB intelligence agency.
“The suspension of NPC Russia will now be considered in accordance with the IPC Suspension Policy”.
The names of the athletes involved have not been given out asyet.
After the IPC board ratified a decision to open suspension proceedings against NPC Russia, IPC president Sir Philip Craven thanked McLaren for his cooperation. If suspended, NPC Russia will be given 21 days to file an appeal. He added that after considering new evidence this week, “the IPC believes that the current environment in Russian sport – which stems from the highest levels – is such that NPC Russia appears unable to fulfill its IPC membership obligations in full”. The IPC is sending 19 samples from the Sochi Paralympic Winter Games for immediate further analysis after McLaren’s investigators said they could have been doctored by Russian authorities.
He went on to say, “With regard to NPC Russia, we have started proceedings to consider the suspension of their membership of the IPC”.
With the Rio Games set to start on August 5, the International Olympic Committee has taken every last agonising day before ruling on one of the toughest questions it has faced in recent history.
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This brings the total number of doping cases discovered through the retesting of samples from the last two Olympics to 98.
