IOC agonizes over Russia Rio ban
Print Edition
THE International Olympic Committee said yesterday it would take up to a week to decide whether to ban Russia from the Rio Olympics over its “state” doping machine.
It follows a report by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren that accused Russia’s sports ministry of overseeing doping of the country’s Olympic athletes.
Amid widespread agonizing within the IOC over how to handle its biggest doping scandal, the final verdict could come less than 10 days from the Rio opening ceremony on August 5.
The IOC executive decided on Tuesday to wait until after a Court of Arbitration in Sport ruling expected today before deciding whether a blanket Olympic ban on Russian competitors should be imposed.
The IOC, which said it needed to study all “legal options”, has now signalled it will take every day possible for one of the most important decisions in Olympic history.
“We expect a decision within seven days on the participation of Russian competitors in Rio,” IOC media relations chief Emmanuelle Moreau said.
But Russia’s top Olympic official expects a final decision by Sunday. “The issue will be finally resolved by the end of this week, probably on Sunday,” Russian Olympic Committee president Alexander Zhukov said yesterday at a meeting of the ROC in Moscow.
Zhukov said his committee did not discuss the McLaren report at its meeting, although he also did not rule out legal action if Russia is hit with a total ban from the games.
Zhukov said he was hopeful of winning the CAS appeal, adding that Russia’s plans for the Olympics assumed the track and field team would be allowed to compete. Russia plans to send a total of 387 athletes, including 68 in track and field, he said.
“Of course we hope for a CAS ruling in our favor,” Zhukov told state TV. “It would be, I’d say, a serious precedent for the other federations’ decisions.”
Regardless of how the various doping-related cases turn out, Zhukov said a Russian Olympic boycott was out of the question.
“These boycotts just lead to a breakup of the Olympic movement,” he said. “I think that Russia will never take part in any boycott”.
The Soviet Union boycotted the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, retaliating for the United States-led boycott of the 1980 Games in Moscow following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
WADA has called for Russia to be banned and is believed to have backing from the US, Canada, Germany, Japan and other nations. However, several national Olympic committees have also voiced support for Russia’s case that it would be wrong to exclude Russian athletes who have not failed drug tests.
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