Sochi doping probe sees British medal hope slide into view
BRITAIN’S chances of winning a retrospective Olympic medal from the 2014 Sochi Winter Games have been boosted by significant developments in the Russian doping scandal.
Team GB’s four-man bobsleigh team, skippered by former Royal Marines commando John James Jackson, finished fifth in their event, with two Russian teams ahead of them. One of the host quartets, led by national sporting icon Alexander Zubkov, took gold, ahead of Latvia and the USA, while the other finished in fourth place.
With the net now closing on doping cheats, it is increasingly likely that multiple Russian bobsledders will have their Sochi results annulled; at least 17 sledders are being investigated.
If competitors from both Russian teams who finished ahead of the Britons are successfully prosecuted then Team GB will be awarded bronze, eventually.
Jackson’s four-man team was completed by Bruce Tasker, Stuart Benson and Joel Fearon.
Speaking to The Mail on Sunday recently, Tasker was asked if he felt his team had been cheated by the Russians in Sochi, and replied: ‘Yes, I think probably we have.’
On the prospect of getting a retrospective medal at some stage, he added: ‘Whether in a few months or a few years, which is what I’m ultimately expecting, so be it.’
Zubkov has admitted in the past few days that he had been called before an International Olympic Committee (IOC) hearing on doping allegations around Sochi.
Russian media have also reported that samples from Zubkov and teammate Alexey Voyevoda (who together won a second gold in the twoman event) had contained unusually high levels of salt. This is one indicator the samples may have been tampered with.