A leading Paralympian then claimed that Russians at Sochi 2014 undertook doping tests in different rooms to athletes from other countries, and were only held for three-to four minute intervals.
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In a dark-of-night operation, Russian anti-doping experts and members of the intelligence services replaced urine samples tainted by performance-enhancing drugs with clean urine collected months earlier, somehow breaking into the supposedly tamper-proof bottles that are the standard at global competitions, said Rodchenkov. “We were fully equipped, knowledgeable, experienced and perfectly prepared for Sochi like never before”, he said. It allegedly bore the names of 15 athletes who later won medals, including Zubkov and Legkov.
WADA also said he covered up positive drug tests and destroyed hundreds of urine samples.
Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking to reporters in a May 13 conference call, described the allegations made by Grigory Rodchenkov as unsubstantiated slander by a “defector”.
Russian Federation topped the Sochi medal table with 33 medals, including 13 golds.
The Russian sports ministry may file a lawsuit against The New York Times, which published a story about the alleged doping abuse by Russian athletes at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, deputy minister Yuri Nagornykh has said. This ruling was initially taken as a sign that WADA was going to start acting as if it were more an effective anti-doping body than a public-relations front and punishing nations who sidestepped anti-doping measures.
It was hoped that a new anti-doping law passed by president Uhuru Kenyatta would end any fears that Kenyan athletes may be prevented from competing in Brazil. The United States won 9 golds and 28 total, finishing fourth on the medal table.
Cross-country skier Aleksandr Legkov, who won gold and silver at Sochi, told the Sport Ekspres newspaper that “I am sure of myself 300 million percent”.
Back in November 2015, a massive doping scandal involving members of Russia’s track and field teams was uncovered.
He said: “The system of organisation of the Olympic Games was completely transparent”.
The WADA ruling meant Kenya, for decades a leading power in middle- and long-distance running, could be in danger of exclusion from the August 5-21 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
“Everything was under the control of worldwide experts – from the collection of samples to their analysis”.
Rodchenkov said the Sports Ministry actively guided the doping effort.
Putin personally backed Russia’s bid, even giving an emotional speech in English to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The IAAF statement added: ‘WADA’s decision to declare the new Kenyan NADO non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code for failing to introduce the relevant legislation by the stipulated deadline is a further reflection of the IAAF’s concerns about the level of commitment to anti-doping at the national level in Kenya.
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The committee said it “will not hesitate to act with its usual policy of zero tolerance for doping and defending the clean athletes” based on the results of the WADA investigation.
