(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko). President of Russia’s Olympic Committee Alexander Zhukov gestures while speaking to the media after the meeting of Russia’s Olympic Committee in Moscow, Russia Wednesday, July 20, 2016. “It is all about friendship, cooperation and should strengthen relations between nations”.
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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it would study “legal options” before deciding whether to ban Russian Federation from the Rio Games following emergency talks on Tuesday.
A verdict on its appeal will be issued by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Thursday.
International Olympic Committee: the IOC will start disciplinary actions related to Russian Ministry of Sport officials, explore legal options with regard to a collective ban of all Russian athletes, take steps to limit involvement in sports events in Russia, exclude Russian politicians from accreditations in Rio, reanalyze samples from Sochi, among several other steps.
WADA’s recommendation to IOC was made on Monday, which was based on an investigation by an independent commission with a conclusion that the Russian State manipulated the doping control process, particularly, during the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
“We shall say it this way, the source is dubious and compromised, and therefore it is not clear to us what other information is available”, Peskov said when pointing out that Rodchenkov himself was involved in manipulations with doping.
In extending the ban, the IAAF said Russia’s entire drug-testing system had been corrupted and tainted and there was no way to prove which athletes were clean.
Earlier this month, IAAF’s anti-doping department rejected personal applications from all Russian athletes for participation in global competitions, including the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, except for long jump athlete Darya Klishina. Darya Klishina, who trains outside of the country, was the only Russian athlete who was permitted by the IAAF to compete as a neutral participant.
The uncertainty is weighing heavily on Russian athletes.
Thursday is an extremely important day for Russian track and field athletes – the members of the national team will find out if they will be allowed to compete at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The IAAF announced late last month that it amended the organization’s regulations in order to allow field and track athletes from Russian Federation to submit individual applications for global tournaments.
The Soviet Union boycotted the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, retaliating for the United States-led boycott of the 1980 Games in Moscow following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. “I think that Russian Federation will never take part in any boycott”.
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Also in the documentary, her husband – a former employee of Russia’s anti-doping agency – said the agency would routinely get calls from the Russian sports ministry, which would help cover up positive test results for famous or especially promising athletes.
