Probst warns not to politicize PED fight

COLORADO SPRINGS — The leader of the U.S. Olympic Committee warned of turning the effort to fix the world’s broken anti-doping system into a Cold War-style showdown between East and West.

Speaking to the U.S. Olympic Assembly on Thursday, chairman Larry Probst reiterated his support for the International Olympic Committee’s near-unanimous rubber-stamping of President Thomas Bach’s decision not to ban the entire Russian team from the Rio Olympics.

“If we’re going to address the inadequacies of the current anti-doping system, we can’t devolve into a Cold War mentality of us versus them,” Probst told the audience of U.S. Olympic leaders. “The global system is broken, and it needs to be fixed, the sooner the better.”

The World Anti-Doping Agency and other antidoping leaders called for a blanket ban of the Russians from the Rio Olympics after investigations found widespread, state-sponsored doping inside the Russian sports system. But Bach, citing the “concept of individual justice” over collective punishment, delivered a decision that allowed 271 Russians — about 70 percent of the country’s proposed roster — to compete in Rio. Those athletes collected 56 medals.

2024 GAMES: Three existing venues have been added to Los Angeles’ bid for the 2024 Olympics, including Long Beach as one of four main sports clusters. LA2024 announced the additional venues Thursday, emphasizing its use of existing venues to avoid costly construction and cost overruns.