International Olympic Committee chief urges total review of anti-doping system

The result is death and destruction, that is not what the Olympic Movement stands for. The 40-year-old athlete was the victor of the Olympic gold in 2012, also winning the Olympic silver in 2000 and two bronze medals at the Olympic Games in 2004 and 2008. “The Olympic movement stands for life and the construction of a better future”, he said.

He also had strong words for critics of the IOC’s handling of the Russian Federation scandal, saying: “What is not acceptable is the insinuation of some proponents of the blanket ban that those who do not share their opinions are not fighting against doping”.

That figure covers athletes who were detected at the Olympics, and does not include athletes who were barred in advance, as has happened with the Russians this year.

WADA and many other anti-doping agencies had called for a complete ban after Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren issued a report that accused the Russian sports ministry of orchestrating a doping program that involved more than two dozen summer and winter Olympic sports.

“We are witnessing the enormous pressure put on the International Olympic Committee by governments and political circles of certain countries”, Zhukov said, without naming them.

Russian boxers, tennis players, judokas and shooters were among those given the last-minute approval by an IOC panel set up to review the eligibility of all Russian athletes previously cleared to compete by their worldwide federations.

WADA President Craig Reedie, who is a vice president of the International Olympic Committee and was sitting close to Bach during his address, chose not to give an immediate response to the comments. The IOC is calling for a more robust and efficient anti-doping system. Eighteen canoeists and rowers made late appeals on Monday adding to challenges from three swimmers, a wrestler and the Russian weightlifting federation already in a queue at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

“The IOC has no authority to declare any organization non-compliant with the WADA code. The IOC has no authority to follow up on information about the failings of the testing system”.

“At times WADA has seemed to be more interested in publicity and self-promotion rather than doing its job as a regulator, acting with transparency, and looking after the best interest of clean athletes”, Werthein told the meeting.

WADA president Craig Reedie, who had called for a blanket ban on Russian Federation, is to address the meeting on Wednesday.

RIO DE JANEIRO Russia will be represented in most sports at the Rio Olympics, with 271 of its sportsmen and women cleared to participate ahead of the opening ceremony, Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) head Alexander Zhukov said on Thursday. Let me remind you that on August 3 we will hoist the Russian flag at the Olympic village.

Zhukov criticized the IAAF for banning Russia’s track and field team and took a swipe at WADA, saying the same agency which sought a complete ban is the same one that had supervision over Russia’s anti-doping agency and doping lab.

The IOC has ordered individual federations which organise the sports contest at the Olympics to filter out Russian athletes who should be banned over the doping. We may disagree how we get there but we all work toward the same goal of protecting clean athletes.