‘IOC had a really difficult decision’
Canada’s athletes want fair play, but disagree on including Russia
As a four-time Olympic medallist, Canadian paddler Adam van Koeverden has long been an advocate of clean athletes competing on a level playing field.
At the same time, the Olympian from Oakville, Ont., believes a blanket ban of all Russians from next month’s Games in Rio de Janeiro could have been overly punitive.
While not exactly siding with the decision made by the International Olympic Committee on Sunday not to expel the Russians from Rio, van Koeverden says such a call wouldn’t have been as simple as anti-doping advocates preferred.
“I think the IOC had a really difficult decision on their hands,” van Koeverden told Postmedia on Sunday. “People are acting and talking as though there were only two choices — ban them and be antidoping or not ban them and seemingly endorse doping. The reality is that it’s far more complex than that.
“Despite what people think, there are many clean athletes who compete for Russia, and punishing them for the actions of politicians, bureaucrats, doctors, administrators and cheating athletes would be wrong, in my opinion.”
The elaborate state-sponsored doping program exposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency earlier this month sparked calls to completely banish all Russian athletes headed to Brazil for the Games, which begin on Aug. 5.
Ultimately, the IOC either had a soft spot for the clean athletes van Koeverden speaks about, or it lacked the spine to impose what is essentially a temporary death penalty on a powerful nation.
Instead, it was left to individual international sports federations to rule on Russian athletes’ eligibility.
Not all with a stake in the Olympic movement were as diplomatic as van Koeverden. On her official Twitter account, four-time British Olympian Paula Radcliffe denounced the IOC decision as “a sad day for clean sport.”
Canadian Olympic hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser, a member of the IOC athletes’ commission, also found fault in the ruling.
“For me, the only answer to counteract the incredible measures and deception taken is to send a message that the IOC and (Olympic Games) won’t be a puppet in this game,” Wickenheiser said in a statement. “This didn’t happen. While I agree we must protect individual clean athletes of Russia and the world, I cannot see how passing the responsibility to (international federations) makes this any easier, especially with the Games 12 days away.
“We missed a moment in time to honour the world’s clean athletes and sent a bold statement to the world that corruption, cheating and manipulating sport will not be tolerated.”
Travis Tygart, the head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, echoed the view of Radcliffe and Wickenheiser.
“It’s a significant blow to the fight for integrity in the Olympic movement and the rights of clean athletes,” Tygart said in a statement. “It’s incredible that this decision has come out in the way it has, and I think they’ve gone to great lengths to justify doing the wrong thing. Unfortunately the Olympic flame burns a little less bright today.”
Sunday’s decision guaranteed one thing: Every Russian medallist in Rio will be met with a hefty dose of skepticism, a reaction guaranteed by the elaborate crooks within the country’s sporting institution that created the controversy.
While van Koeverden, the Canadian flag bearer at the 2012 London Olympics, acknowledged there was no easy decision by the IOC, there is also no resolution with Rio looming.
“It’s too complex an issue for me to either endorse their decision or wholly express contempt for,” said van Koeverden, who will compete in the K-1 men’s 1,000 metres in Rio.
“It’s in the hands of the individual international federations now. I would like to see that the names of all the supposed Russian disappearing positives are uncovered and justice is served.”
And another pertinent point from van Koeverden: The effectiveness of the WADA report was likely hampered because it was released so close to the pending Rio Games.
“There is an obvious issue,” van Koeverden said. “State-controlled doping needs to be stopped. WADA needs to act more swiftly to deal with these issues outside of the Olympic window because it was clear that the IOC was unwilling to act hastily.”