A Canadian says new ruling is a ‘nightmare’
Canadian luger speaks out against ruling to reverse sanctions on Russian dopers
PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA Sam Ed ney wants desperately to put behind him the drama of an Olympic medal denied by dopers, awarded to him by authorities and once again removed from his grasp by appeal.
But as he embarks on the final preparations of his fourth and final Olympic Games, one of Canada’s most decorated luge athletes has a pointed and poignant message for the rest of the sporting world.
“I ask you to look at the faces of myself and my seven teammates,” Edney said here on Monday morning while pointing to his left on a podium where seven of his fellow Canadian lugers had gathered. “These are the faces of eight clean athletes.
“Six of us are directly impacted negatively by Sochi events. Four of us lost the Olympic moment we all trained relentlessly for, a moment to share in celebration with Canadians across the country.”
Edney was referring specifically to a ruling Thursday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that reversed sanctions against 28 Russian athletes accused of doping.
The decision effectively returned the bronze medal they thought was coming their way after Russians Albert Demchenko and Tatiana Ivanova were issued lifetime bans for doping violations, a ruling that effectively stripped them of the bronze they earned at the 2014 Sochi Games.
Not only did the reversal crush Edney and his teammates Alex Gough, Tristan Walker and Justin Snith, it came at a time when they are making their final training push for a podium at the Olympic Sliding Centre.
Reading from a prepared statement — which did nothing to dull the impact and emotion of his words — Edney implored both athletes and those who administer sport around the world to be cleaner.
“What I believe we have missed in all this discussion is the profound negative impact this decision has had on the thousands of clean athletes around the world,” the 33-year-old Calgary native said. “Last week not only us but all clean athletes experience a step back in that fight when that gift was potentially removed as a result of the CAS decision.
“I feel this has to stop. The whole situation is disturbing for our team and we believe a nightmare for clean athletes.”
As Friday’s opening ceremony draws nearer, the doping issue continues to rage around these Games. IOC president Thomas Bach addressed the scourge during a weekend news conference and we suspect will be asked to do so almost daily at his regular news briefings.
While much of the criticism has been directed at countries that enable the dopers, Edney implored his fellow competitors to take integrity into their own hands.
“Clean athletes around the world must take strong action to ensure every athlete is able to compete equally,” Edney said. “This is our ultimate wish. We want every athlete in every sport to be able to look to their left and to their right in front of them and behind them and now that each and every one of their competitors is without a doubt clean.”
After reading his statement, Edney spoke on behalf of his teammates, declaring there would be no more discussion, no more criticism, until after their competition is completed. Training runs continue this week and the Canadian team is determined to improve on thet rife ct a of fourth-place finishes in Sochi four years ago and bring home their country’s first Olympic medal. There is every intent to do it the old-fashioned way — get down the mountain among the fastest three and remove politics from the scorekeeping.
Edney, however, made no attempt to conceal the emotional ride that he and fellow teammates have endured from coming so close to a medal in Russia to the backand-forth of recent months.
Edney said it essentially took “two exhausting years” to move on from the heartbreak of being so close to the podium in Sochi. The key was to look ahead and the team responded with multiple medals on the World Cup circuit.
And then two months ago came the news of vindication, that a belated bronze would be coming their way.
“We took little time to celebrate, our focus remained squarely on 2018,” Edney said. “There was a high-five in training, not only because we thought we were medallists, but more importantly because it was another major step forward in our fight for clean sport.
“(Then) not only us but all clean athletes experienced a step back in that fight when that gift was potentially removed because of the CAS decision.”
The first Canadian male ever to win a World Cup luge race, Edney is proud of his accomplishments and would dearly love to have what he calls “the medal that is not.” But as the post Super Bowl sports microscope prepares to zoom in on South Korea, Edney was emphatic in his message that clean athletes —or his Canadian team mates, anyway—have had enough.
“Let me be perfectly clear,” Edney said. “This is not about a medal being taken away from me or my teammates. A clean playing field is more powerful for us than a medal at an Olympics.”
This is not about a medal being taken away from me or my teammates. A clean playing field is more powerful for us than a medal at an Olympics.