With the 2016 Summer Games drawing near, Olympic leaders now find themselves facing questions – if not outright criticism – over their decision not to ban Russian Federation from the competition.
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U.S. anti-doping chief Travis Tygart also criticized the International Olympic Committee overthe move, accusing it of creating “a confusing mess” with its decision.
“The IOC has refused to take decisive leadership”, said Travis T. Tygart, head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
Only the global tennis, triathlon and archery federations have announced Russian competitors as eligible to compete so far.
The list of 11 Russian athletes approved by the IJF must now be submitted to an arbitrator from the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He added “I got the impression the only thing they cared about, even the person from the ethics department, is protecting the International Olympic Committee as an organization”.
Sports such as swimming and cycling might choose a different path, dealing with each athlete individually.
Bach argued that an outright ban would have violated the rights of clean Russian athletes hoping to compete at the upcoming Games.
“This is a very ambitious timeline”, Bach said.
FINA said three more swimmers were identified by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren when he examined evidence that Russian government officials ordered the coverup of hundreds of doping tests.
The country’s sports leaders subsequently acknowledged a culture of doping that dates to the Soviets and East Germans of the Communist era.
It’s a conclusion that both the World Anti-Doping Agency and track’s governing body, the IAAF, disagree with; both recommended Stepanova be allowed to compete.
But WADA raised the stakes last week, pointing out through an independent investigation, the McLaren report, that Russia’s doping problems are widespread. And a third report last week alleged that workers in Russian drug-testing labs had swapped clean samples for dirty ones to help Russian athletes evade detection.
With WADA and others around the world calling for an outright ban, the IOC’s board held a three-hour teleconference to discuss the matter Sunday.
Russia, on the other hand, expressed relief at the decision, which will allow Russian athletes who are deemed to be clean to take part in the Games in Rio de Janeiro. “It’s more about her participating and trying to see how fast she can run by being an honest athlete”.
“In keeping with the IOC’s decision, United World Wrestling has initiated a process to validate each of the Russian wrestlers qualified for the Rio 2016 Games”.
On Monday the Stepanovs appealed against the International Olympic Committee decision and angrily claimed the International Olympic Committee banned her on false premises. The 800-meter runner was caught for doping but later came forward to expose the Russian doping system.
Russian archers have been targeted for additional testing, both in and out of competition, since the report was released, the federation said.
The Minister of Sport for Russia, Vitaly Mutko, confidently declared that a “majority” of Russian athletes will pass the requirements.
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World Sailing says a Russian sailor has been excluded from the Rio Olympics because his name was implicated in an alleged doping cover-up scheme.
