IOC sends wrong message by ignoring calls for ban
Clean athletes find ruling ‘pretty disheartening ’
Thomas Bach asserted, reiterated and repeated that, yes, indeed, the International Olympic Committee’s decision not to ban Russia from the Rio Olympics was in the interest of clean sport. In delegating the decisions about the eligibility of athletes in a state-sponsored doping program, the IOC was respecting the rights of clean athletes. Few were buying it, though. While the IOC president hailed the decision, athletes, anti-doping and sport officials derided it, calling it a sad day for clean sport. Russians will compete in Rio, though how many will be determined through a chaotic process played out in 27 international federations over the next 12 days.
They’ll do so despite revelations over the last three years and in three reports released by the World Anti-Doping Agency in the last nine months that have shown widespread doping of athletes, a subversion of the anti-doping system and the cover-up of positive tests extending to the highest levels of Russian sport.
“It’s pretty disheartening to know I dedicated my life to sport and for me in particular to clean sport,” said Lauryn Williams, a four-time Olympian and twotime medalist in track and field. “And it seems like it’s all in vain. I am the person at end of day who has to rest my head on the pillow and say, ‘I competed clean.’ But to know I have no one fighting for me is disheartening.”
Widespread calls for a fullscale ban went ignored, prompting strong and swift criticism of the IOC’s decision.
Rather than ban the country, the IOC left it to the international federations to decide which of its athletes met the criteria for eligibility for the Games, which begin Aug. 5.
It was hardly consolation for those who saw the decision as unable to guarantee Russian athletes lining up in Rio weren’t part of the doping system and a stunning lack of consequences for the biggest state-sponsored doping program sport has seen since East Germany.
“The IOC executive committee has failed to confront forcefully the findings of evidence of statesponsored doping in Russia corrupting the Russian sport system,” said Joseph de Pencier, CEO of the Institute of National Anti-Doping Organizations (iN-ADO), which had called for a total ban of the country. “All this is hardly the unequivocal protection of fair play as a fundamental principle of Olympism that the circumstances required. So it is a sad day for clean sport.”
WADA commissioned an investigation led by Richard McLaren in May after 60 Minutes and
The New York Times reported allegations from Dr. Grigory Rod-chenkov, the former director of the Moscow lab, of the doping of Russian athletes in the Sochi Olympics and the cover-up of it by swapping out dirty urine for clean urine.
Those allegations were confirmed in the McLaren report released last week.
“That’s what you’ve seen every step along the way is the kicking of the responsibility because no one truly wants to address the situation,” said Steve Magness, a track coach and whistleblower who alleged doping by athletes and coaches in the Oregon Project. “We can’t have confidence in the IOC, the WADAs of the world to do what they’ve been given instructions to do.
“The message is sent that this isn’t a fair system. You’re not competing on a clean, level playing field. And there’s no one in charge who you can have the faith in to be looking out for your back as a clean athlete.”