Russian parathletes hoping to compete in this summer’s Paralympics in Rio got some bad news Friday when officials moved to ban the country from the Games amid Russia’s ongoing doping crisis.
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He added there was a need to “cooperate closely” on doping with the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency, the latter of which welcomed Thursday’s court ruling to uphold a ban on Russia’s scandal-hit track and field team.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will decide on Sunday whether to ban Russian Federation entirely from the main Rio Games next month, where their athletics and weightlifting teams are already suspended.
Sir Philip Craven, the IPC President, commented: “Richard McLaren’s findings are of serious concern for everyone who is committed to clean and honest sport”.
The IPC said it had acted after McLaren provided the names of the athletes associated with the 35 “disappearing positive samples” from the Moscow laboratory highlighted in the report.
“The IPC is also sending 19 samples from the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games for immediate further analysis after they were identified by Richard McLaren’s investigation team as having been potentially doctored as part of the sample swapping regime during the Games”.
But Russia has found support from some global sports bodies, with the worldwide Judo Federation (IJF) insisting all clean athletes should be allowed to take part in Rio.
“In light of the prevailing doping culture endemic within Russian sport at the very highest levels, NPC Russia appears unable or unwilling to ensure compliance with and the enforcement of the IPC’s Anti-Doping Code within its own national jurisdiction”, the IPC said.
The IOC has re-analysed more than 1,200 samples, focusing on medal winners, in a bid to clean up the Olympics’ reputation.
Craven added: “This decision was not taken lightly, but after fully evaluating the “Independent Person Report” and the additional information we have received, the IPC believes that the current environment in Russian sport – which stems from the highest levels – is such that NPC Russia appears unable to fulfil its IPC membership obligations in full”.
The new cases bring to 98 the total number of athletes who have failed tests so far in the reanalysis of their stored samples from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Games.
The IOC is facing global pressure to act tough on Russian Federation and ban the entire team over incendiary revelations of a state-run doping system that has seen the country cheat its way to victory.
The suspension of the track and field team already means that star athletes like pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva and hurdler Sergey Shubenkov will not be in Rio. The fate of Russian Athletes is still under dilemma.
The IAAF has only permitted one Russian team member to compete in Rio as a neutral: US-based long jumper Darya Klishina.
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The IOC has appeared to back the principle that global sporting federations could clear individual athletes in case of a blanket ban but with just two weeks to go until Rio, time is slipping away.
