Russian president Vladimir Putin said his country must do everything it can to eradicate doping as he held a crisis meeting with his sports chiefs on Thursday morning (AEDT).
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The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) commission on Monday alleged widespread corruption and collusion by Russian officials, including state security services, to cover up drug test results, destroy samples and intimidate laboratory staff.
Putin ordered Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko and “all colleagues connected with sport” to pay close attention to the doping allegations and for an internal investigation to be conducted – one that guaranteed full cooperation with worldwide anti-doping bodies.
WADA’s independent commission called for Russia’s athletics federation to be suspended, citing evidence of corruption and collusion of Russian officials in covering up positive doping tests.
“If you’re accusing our athletes today, then I’m afraid your system is zero and worse than ours”, Mutko said.
Asked if the Olympic body could show leadership in the Russian doping scandal, Bach replied: “We have already shown this leadership”.
Mutko also described as “absurd” calls for his membership of FIFA’s executive committee to be reviewed in light of the WADA report.
“We want to know who decides which swimmer gets tested for what banned substances”.
His resignation came after WADA suspended Moscow’s heavily criticised anti-doping laboratory on Tuesday, the day after releasing its explosive, 335-page report on the scandal. IAAF President Sebastian Coe remarked that in the current situation it would be better if Russian Federation voluntarily withdrew its track and field team.
Baranov’s deposition to the IAAF revealed that officials from the Russian athletics federation had extorted 450,000 euros ($480,000) from his client, marathon-runner Liliya Shobukhova, who was banned and stripped of her titles past year due to anomalies in her biological passport.
The German TV documentary that triggered the Wada investigation claimed that a third of the 146 world and Olympic medals awarded between 2001 and the 2012 London Olympics were tainted by suspicions of doping.
“I would never have imagined that in an global federation, money would be solicited from athletes to manipulate results”, said the worldwide Olympic Committee president.
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“This possibility exists because a few benefit from removing a direct competitor, and others benefit from soiling the country’s image”, he said, adding that honest athletes should not have to suffer because of “those who break a few rules”.
