As a result, WADA suggested that the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and all international sports federations ban Russian athletes from all international sports competitions, including Rio 2016. After a debate lasting more than two hours, Bach asked for a show of hands, and all but one of the approximately 100 members voted in favor of his position.
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Sir Craig’s scepticism was couched in diplomatic terms after a bruising day of criticism from International Olympic Committee members including president Thomas Bach, who used the opening day of the IOC’s general meeting in Rio to pass blame for the chaos to WADA.
Bach said it would be wrong to make individual Russian athletes “collateral damage” for the wrongdoing of their government.
“There have been criticisms about the CAS decision with respect to athletics a few days ago, but our activity, our job, is really to render decisions according to the law, we are not a political body, we do not express political opinions and of course we can not be seen as a political institution”, he said. The result is death and destruction, that is not what the Olympic Movement stands for.
WADA chief Craig Reedie was grilled at the International Olympic Committee session for what members said was a failure to act on information from whistleblowers of widespread doping in Russian Federation until it became public through the media past year. “The cynical ‘collateral damage” approach is not what the Olympic movement stands for”.
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.
Eleven of those 18 are related to the Russian doping crisis that continues to dominate headlines in Rio, with the opening ceremony just two days away now but no firm answer on how big Russia’s team will be.
Bach’s forthright condemnation of the WADA escalates the public feud between the Olympics and anti-doping bodies which has broken out of late.
Consequently, Telegraph reported two Russian swimmers Nikita Lobintsev and Vladimir Mozorov who passed the International Olympic Committee tests.
Israeli member Alex Gilady echoed that feeling.
‘It was a very hard decision, there is no doubt about that, ‘ Coates told AAP on Tuesday.
“At times WADA has seemed to be more interested in publicity and self-promotion rather than doing its job as a regulator, acting with transparency, and looking after the best interest of clean athletes”, Werthein told the meeting.
Kuwait and the IOC have been at loggerheads over a new sports law that the Olympic body says will undermine the autonomy of sport in the country.
Zhukov also took a swipe at WADA.
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But fearing it would be overshadowed by ongoing discussion in Rio, WADA has cancelled it’s pre Olympic media conference scheduled for Friday.
