NOW BAN THEM
Whistleblower’s new claims puts Russia in dock again
RUSSIA are on the brink of a ban from the 2018 Winter Olympics that will cause diplomatic outrage in Moscow — after whistle-blower Grigory Rodchenkov provided fresh damning evidence of statesponsored doping to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The Mail on Sunday can reveal extraordinary new details of how former Moscow lab boss Rodchenkov gave new affidavits to the IOC’s Oswald and Schmid commissions, the two separate inquiries set up to investigate Russian doping so the IOC can deliberate on a possible Russian ban from Pyeonchang 2018.
And if they do not give his evidence due weight in their final reports, it is believed he will make it public, in a potentially explosive move.
Rodchenkov helped to mastermind the doping programme and is in witness protection in the US, in fear of his life. Two close friends from the Russian anti- doping world have already died in mysterious circumstances. But multiple sources inside and outside Russia have confirmed Rodchenkov has nonetheless contributed to the commissions’ work.
The Oswald Commission, led by Swiss lawyer Denis Oswald, is looking at specific cases from the 2014 Sochi Games and contacted Rodchenkov via US federal authorities. Oswald gave Rodchenkov an initial deadline of November 6 to
provide details of specific athletes who were p a r t o f a d o p i n g programme.
However, we can reveal there was a sudden change of timetable on October 27, when t he Oswald Commission told Rodchenkov that his detailed statement, providing evidence on scores of athletes and how they doped, would need to presented immediately or risk not being considered.
Rodchenkov and his l awyers worked through that night to ensure a detailed assessment of the doping programme a nd t he a t hl e t e s involved was with the commission on Saturday morning, October 28.
The Schmid Commission, led by another Swiss l awyer, Samuel Schmid, is understood to have spent more than an hour on the phone with Rodchenkov last month but the former Moscow lab director then sent them a separate affidavit with the details of what he says was state-sponsored doping.
Rodchenkov has consistently said the Russian doping conspiracy was funded and organised by the office of then- Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, now the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia.
WADA accept this version of events and announced on Friday that a new set of Moscow lab data from 2012 to 2015, recently leaked by a n e w w h i s t l e b l o w e r, corroborates the view Russian ran a state-supported doping scheme.
‘This new intelligence serves to reinforce our requirement of Russian authorities that they too publicly accept [that verdict],’ said WADA.
Mutko has repeatedly denied any i nvolvement, as has president Vladimir Putin, vehemently. Russia appear newly concerned about the threat of expulsion from the Games and have requested the extradition of Rodchenkov.
Anti- corruption i nvestigators familiar with the doping scandal — first exposed by the MoS in 2013 — firmly believe Russia, and specifically Putin, want to frame Rodchenkov as t he l one wolf architect of the scheme.
Nobody outside Russia, certainly not WADA or the IOC, believes that, and accept the scandal was state-supported. Russia remains under pressure on multiple fronts in relation to allegations of drug use. At least 34 Russian footballers, including the entire 23-man 2014 World Cup squad, were identified as possible beneficiaries of a doping programme.
The draw for the 2018 World Cup, to be hosted by Russia, is just weeks away, meaning any corroboration of football involvement in doping or cover-ups would heap new shame on Russia and f ootball world governing body FIFA. If the Schmid Commission, which is tasked with investigating whether there was a conspiracy and whether it involved the Russian government, does not give due weight to Rodchenkov’s supplementary evidence in any public findings, it is believed he will make his most recent affidavit public. It is understood a number of independent witness have corroborated Rodchenkov’s allegations in separate testimonies. Rodchenkov has pr e vi o us l y det a i l e d how Russian government security agents, the FSB, were trained to o pen di r t y uri ne s a mples o f Russian athletes and replace them with clean urine at the Sochi Games. He said l ab offi ci al s contaminated dirty samples with salt to render findings useless, all of which was done by using a secret hatch in the official anti-doping lab at the Sochi Olympics in Russia, where the home nation topped the medal s t a b l e a n d a s WADA observers looked on in an attempt to ensure fair play. IOC president Thomas Bach is now in an invidious position with t he Pyeonchang Games only three months away.
The Schmid Commission is due to be discussed next month by the IOC, ostensibly in private, although it is clear that any talks won’t remain so.
Rodchenkov’s new testimony means that there will now be ample ammunition to suspend the Russian Olympic Committee, in what would be deeply embarrassing for them.