The extent of Russia’s “state-sponsored” doping scheme, which oversaw the manipulation of athletes’ drugs tests at major worldwide competitions between 2011 and 2015, was revealed earlier this week in a report compiled for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) by Canadian sports lawyer Richard McLaren.
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The IPC decried a “prevailing doping culture endemic within Russian sport at the very highest levels” and said the country’s Paralympic body “appears unable or unwilling to ensure compliance with and the enforcement” of anti-doping measures.
Olympic leaders are meeting to consider whether to impose a total ban on Russian athletes from the Rio de Janeiro Games because of state-sponsored doping.
It comes after the Court of Arbitration for Sport this week upheld the decision to ban Russia’s track and field athletes. The IOC launched disciplinary actions related to the involvement of officials within the Russian Sports Ministry and other persons mentioned in the report “because of violations of the Olympic Charter and the World Anti-Doping Code”.
It also ordered the immediate re-testing of all Russian athletes who took part in the Sochi Olympics, as well as a full inquiry into the doping cover-ups.
“The additional information we have been provided with by Richard McLaren includes the names of the Para athletes associated with the 35 “disappearing positive samples” from the Moscow laboratory highlighted in the report”.
But the International Olympic Committee is facing global pressure to take exemplary action given the stunning nature of the allegations against Russian Federation, as well as a run against the clock because the Olympics start in less than two weeks. It instructed all global Olympic Winter Sports Federations to halt preparations for major events in Russia.
The decision that is set to be announced Sunday will determine Russia’s participation in this summer’s Olympics. “McLaren’s findings are of serious concern for everyone committed to clean and honest sport”, said Philip Craven, the IPC president.
Great Britain’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Adam Pengilly has called for Russian Federation to be banned from the upcoming 2016 Rio Olympic Games, over the ongoing doping crisis that has engulfed the sport.
Peskov added that Moscow regretted the rejection of Russian athletes’ appeal, as the decision applied to all country’s track and field athletes, including the clean ones.
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Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko – who has clung on despite the scandal – said Moscow hopes the IOC will defer to individual worldwide sporting federations to decide whether other Russian squads can compete.
