Straight dope from USOC on Russians

While a growing number of American athletes and Olympic leaders are calling for Russia’s ouster from the upcoming games, executives at the U.S. Olympic Committee insist they must wait for the results of doping investigations that will determine the country’s status.

“This has taken a long time to get sorted out, and we’re very anxious to see the outcome,” USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said yesterday in Park City, Utah. “Until they come out with their findings, it’s premature to prejudge the outcome. But obviously, if things are as they appear ... there have to be consequences.”

The USOC’s wait-and-see attitude contrasts with those of American CEOs including Tiger Shaw (U.S. Ski and Snowboard), Max Cobb (U.S. Biathlon) and Travis Tygart (U.S. Anti-Doping Agency), along with athletes Susan Dunklee and Lowell Bailey (biathlon) and Andy Newell (cross-country skiing). All want to see Russia banned from the Olympics, with exceptions made for athletes who can prove they’ve been subject to a robust anti-doping program, and would then compete under a neutral flag.

Shaw, whose organization will make up more than one-third of Americans at the Pyeongchang Games, said “we’re tired of waiting for the apparatus to do nothing.”

Last year, an independent investigation led by Richard McLaren documented evidence of a state-sponsored doping system in Russia that touched 1,000 athletes in 30 sports. McLaren found urine samples had been tampered with among Russians who won 15 medals at the Sochi Games. The International Olympic Committee has been reviewing McLaren’s report via two investigations — one to determine whether state-sponsored manipulation of the doping system existed and the other to sort through the individual cases to determine penalties.