IOC decision blow to clean athletes – US anti-doping chief

The International Olympic Committee is leaving it up to individual athletics-governing federations to decide if Russian competitors should be allowed to participate in next month’s Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

It had also ordered the immediate re-testing of all Russian athletes from the Sochi Olympics, as well as a full inquiry into the alleged doping cover-ups, instructing all worldwide winter sports federations to halt preparations for major events in Russia.

Russian track and field athletes are already the subject of a suspension from the IAAF, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport [CAS] having this week rejected an appeal against that ban on behalf of 68 affected individuals.

The decision comes after an independent report found damning evidence of state-sponsored doping by Russian athletes at the 2014 Sochi Olympics – prompting the World Anti-Doping Agency to call for a Rio ban.

She was cleared by the IAAF to compete as a neutral athlete and returned to the European Championships this month. Unlike those in track and field, other Russian athletes have been competing regularly outside Russia and many will have a large body of tests they can show.

Fourth, the IFs to examine the information contained in the Independent Person (IP) Report, and for such objective seek from World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) the names of athletes and National Federations (NFs) implicated.

The decision follows a report in which Canadian law professor Richard McLaren said Russian Federation operated a state-sponsored doping programme from 2011 to 2015.

Matthew Pincent, a British four-time Olympic champion rower, on Twitter called the decision “a cop out”.

Russian athletes “have to assume a collective responsibility”, for operating in such a corrupt system, he said.

Tygart added: “The decision to refuse her entry in to the Games is incomprehensible and will undoubtedly deter whistleblowers in the future from coming forward”.

It’s not completely clear what the new criteria laid down for Russian athletes will mean for the country’s Olympic delegation. Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isanbayeva commented on the issue as well, and said on on Russian TV, “Doping existed 20 years ago, and ten years ago, and everyone knows it very well because athletes were disqualified, including from other countries, but everyone went out there and competed, and there was no problem”.

Following the IOC announcement, the International Tennis Federation said eight players already met the eligibility requirements, pending confirmation from WADA that they were not implicated in the McLaren report.

Additionally, any Russian athlete who has ever been sanctioned for doping is not eligible to compete.

“Today, we see a risky return to this policy of letting politics interfere with sport”, Putin said in a statement last week, harkening back to Cold War-era relations.

The sports body has recommended federations carry out an individual analysis of each athlete’s anti-doping record, taking into account only reliable adequate worldwide tests, in order to ensure a level playing field.

Travis Tygart says the decision and the confusing mess left in its wake is a significant blow to the rights of clean athletes.

The decision for the International Olympic Committee was loaded with geopolitical ramifications. The last time Russian athletes missed the Summer Games was 1984, when the then-Soviet Union was among 14 communist nations to boycott the Olympics.