Call to Expand Probe Into Russian Doping

While the World Anti-Doping Agency geared up to suspend Russia’s anti-doping operation, calls for investigation into that country’s entire sports program came from athletes and leaders outside of track and field who worry their sports have been tainted, too.

WADA capped a big fortnight for their cause, and a miserable one for Russian Federation, by suspending the country’s anti-doping agency on the back of an independent commission report that uncovered evidence of state-sponsored doping and cover-ups.

“What a mess”, Moses said Wednesday, shortly after the World Anti-Doping Agency declared Russia’s anti-doping agency to be out of compliance.

The Independent Commission, which is chaired by WADA’s founding president Dick Pound, was formed after the broadcast of an ARD documentary – ‘Top-secret doping: How Russian Federation makes its winners’ – in December 2014.

Earlier, WADA ruled that RUSADA was not compliant with the organisation’s code and also said a special discipline commission would be established to consider the issue of the anti-doping laboratory in Moscow.

“We will continue to harshly punish for doping and will not cover up anybody”. “Nobody has turned around and said “By the way, this is how we are going to pay for it”.

The country has vowed a top-to-bottom cleanup of its anti-doping program and its track team, but Cobb doesn’t think the country can be trusted to do the work itself. “We need to state clearly that Russia’s athletics team not go to Rio”. And failure to meet those conditions will see them declared non-compliant.

The country has now been deemed “non-compliant”, with Andorra, Argentina, Bolivia, Israel and Ukraine also receiving the same branding.

WADA president Craig Reedie told Scott, “it’s quite hard to agree today, around this table, that we would investigate all sports around the world”. There is pressure from our athletes saying ‘That’s not enough.’ But I’m not sure they’re necessarily right.

On Monday, Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) said it would reform RAF as soon as possible so that the Russian athletics team could participate in the 2016 Olympic Games.

The 38-member board also found Andorra, Israel, Argentina, Bolivia and Ukraine immediately non-compliant, while Belgium, Brazil, France, Greece, Mexico and Spain were added to the non-compliance “watch list”, meaning they are now non-compliant but have pledged to adhere to the WADA code by March 18, 2016. Fifteen Kenyan athletes are now serving IAAF suspensions.

“I think the athletes were quite clear”, Moses said. “It’s the first time we’ve ever acted in this manner”.