IOC copout damages integrity of Games
The International Olympic Committee stopped short this week of imposing a blanket ban on Russian athletes competing in the Rio de Janeiro Games.
Despite evidence of systemic, state-sponsored doping, Olympic leaders are leaving it up to individual sports federations to decide which athletes from Russia can compete on a case-by-case basis. It is passing the buck on an Olympian scale.
This wasn’t a case of a rogue coach or two, and a handful of competitors. The entire Russian track and field team has been banned for cheating. A recent report by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren alleged a jaw-dropping level of state-sponsored doping and coverups of hundreds of failed drug tests.
The spineless, yet not wholly unexpected, decision by Olympic leaders to dodge their responsibility to take a tough stance on cheating does irreparable harm to what should be a global showcase of athleticism.
Because the international governing bodies of individual sports, especially ones with fewer resources, will be hard pressed to vet so many athletes in the handful of days remaining before the Aug. 5 games opening, the integrity of every Russian competitor will now be tainted, even those who compete cleanly. Pity the blameless Russian who medals and is showered with skepticism instead of admiration.
The decision is also a body blow to Canada’s athletes, some of whom are likely to have competed and lost against cheaters aided and abetted by Russia, a state whose tactics will go unpunished, notes Canadian Olympic hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser.
“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 on Twitter.
“We missed a moment in time to honour the world’s clean athletes and send a bold statement that corruption, cheating and manipulating sport will not be tolerated.”
The IOC missed an opportunity to restore integrity to the Olympics. Instead, sports fans around the world will be watching their athletes compete in a games overshadowed by scandal and suspicion. If they tune in at all.
Canadian Olympian Catriona Le May Doan noted that some of her Twitter followers say they are giving up on sport in disgust at the IOC’s cop-out.
If that cynicism spreads, the damage from the committee’s decision will endure long after the Olympic torch leaves Rio, and hurt many beyond Russia’s Olympic team.