An independent report compiled by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren and released on July 18 uncovered more evidence of widespread state sponsored doping in Russian Federation that led to calls from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), United States and Canadian anti-doping officials and athletes groups to bar the country from the Rio Olympics.
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The McLaren Report recommended a blanket ban for Russian athletes for Rio 2016 but the IOC decided on July 24 that the worldwide federations should rule on their eligibility in their sports and has since set up an independent panel to give a final decision.
“The Olympic movement, which is a tremendous force for uniting humanity, once again could find itself on the brink of division”, he said in a statement Monday after the release of the report into Russian doping issued by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren.
On July 24, the IOC placed the burden on global sports federations to determine if athletes should be allowed to compete in Rio, where the Games start Friday.
Meanwhile, Bach declared Rio “ready” to host the Games and said problems with shoddy construction work at the Olympic Village had been resolved.
As the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) sparred with the Olympics body over the handling of the Russian scandal, the country’s weightlifters took their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Individual federations have been told to recommend athletes and a 3-man International Olympic Committee panel will then make a final decision.
Russia’s weightlifting and track and field teams have been barred wholesale from the Games, which open on Friday, with Russian participation in other sports still unclear.
“I don’t think that this, in the end, will be damaging because people will realize we have to take this decision now”, Bach said. “Unfortunately, doped athletes will be competing”, said the former Russian anti-doping agency (RUSADA) official, now living in hiding in the United States with his wife.
He says banning the entire Russian team from the Rio Games couldn’t be justified on legal or moral grounds.
“The IOC is not responsible for the fact that different information was offered to WADA a couple of years ago was not followed up”.
But he added that the Brazilian authorities had acted quickly in recent months and “we are more confident than ever that we will have a great Olympic Games a la Brazil”.
Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko said Saturday he expected 266 athletes to compete.
Asked whether the ruling represented a failure by the IOC, Bach said: “No”.
“At this time, we are doing four examinations per day that show that the water in the bay meets World Health Organisation standards”, the International Olympic Committee chief said.
Al-Qurashi says a total of 11 Saudi athletes are competing in Rio.
But Bach insisted that the organisation of the Games is “coming together”.
These Games are feeling more like a comedy of errors than an internationally recognized and celebrated event and they havent yet begun.
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“As always, there are some last-minute challenges”.
