singermelodie1 1,638 Posted July 24, 2016 Share Posted July 24, 2016 Olympic officials said on Sunday that all Russian athletes were tainted by the country’s state-run doping system, and that Russian athletes would not be allowed to compete in the coming Rio Games unless they convinced individual sports federations of their innocence. With just 12 days remaining before the start of the Rio Games, theInternational Olympic Committee said in a statement that “all Russian athletes seeking entry to the Olympic Games Rio 2016 are considered to be affected by a system subverting and manipulating the anti-doping system.†The decision not to implement and outright ban was met with scorn from antidoping officials, while Russian officials considered it a victory. The Russian flag and at least some of its athletes will be part of the Rio Games. Antidoping officials and athletes had lobbied for a blanket ban on the entire Russian delegation. Anything short of that, they argued, was too soft a sanction for behavior the Olympic committee president had called a “shocking new dimension in doping†with an “unprecedented level of criminality.†“This may not please everybody on either side,†said Thomas Bach, president of the Olympic committee. “But still the result today is one which is respecting the rules of justice.†Annnouncing the decision on Sunday, Mr. Bach repeated his interest in balancing “the individual justice to which every human being is entitled†with collective punishment. Still, the decision tarnished the reputations and performance of all Russian Olympic athletes, establishing a steep climb for those hoping to compete in Rio. It also served as strong affirmation that Russia had carried out an elaborate cheating scheme under government orders. Russian officials have forcefully denied accusations of state-sponsored doping. But after forensic evidence and computer records were presented last week by the World Anti-Doping Agency, Vladimir V. Putin announced suspensions of several implicated officials. Continue reading the main story Rio Olympics 2016 Complete coverage of the 2016 Olympic Games In Athletes’ Housing at Rio Olympics: Blocked Toilets, Leaking Pipes and Exposed Wiring JUL 24 Joy Over I.O.C. Decision JUL 24 As Top Male Golfers Skip the Olympics, the Best Female Golfers Converge on Rio JUL 23 Zeon Zoysia Is Ready for Its Olympic Debut JUL 23 Global Sports Leaders Anticipate a Decision on Russia’s Participation in Olympics JUL 23 See More » RELATED COVERAGE Russian Insider Says State-Run Doping Fueled Olympic Gold MAY 12, 2016 graphic Russian Doctor Explains How He Helped Beat Doping Tests at the Sochi Olympics MAY 13, 2016 SPORTS OF THE TIMES First Medal of Rio Olympics Deserves to Go to ... a Whistle-Blower JULY 19, 2016 Global Sports Leaders Anticipate a Decision on Russia’s Participation in Olympics JULY 23, 2016 Ahead of the Rio Games, the implications of the Olympic decision might be muddy, with governing bodies for various Olympic sports taking on the complicated task of scrutinizing hundreds of athletes in less than two weeks. Many of the organizations are ill-equipped to handle such a process. Olympics officials outlined specific criteria for athletes to gain eligibility, creating the likelihood that Russia’s Olympic delegation will be severely depleted in Rio de Janeiro. An outright ban of the entire Russian delegation would have meant that the Russian flag would not fly in Rio and none of Russia’s nearly 400 Olympic athletes would have had a chance to participate. Reacting positively to the announcement, Russia’s minister of sport, Vitaly Mutko, expressed confidence at a news conference on Sunday that a “majority†of Russian athletes would meet the criteria. Mr. Mutko himself, however, will not attend the Rio Games, after Olympic officials said last week that no employee of Russia’s sports ministry would be welcome. Asked how the criteria to compete might be subjectively applied by the 28 individual sports federations that participate in the Summer Games, ranging from soccer to badminton, Mr. Bach said that the Olympic committee would have final authority over who would compete, and that decisions would be reviewed by an independent arbitrator — all before Aug. 5. Mr. Bach called it “a very ambitious timeline,†but pointed to the very recent results of an investigation that last week confirmed the account of Russia’s longtime antidoping lab chief. â€We had to react,†Mr. Bach said. “We had no choice.†Some said on Sunday that they wished officials had reacted more strongly. Lauryn Williams, a sprinter and bobsledder from the United States who is a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s athletes’ committee, said that even if few Russian athletes make it to Rio in the face of strict criteria, she was disappointed in what she saw as a lack of leadership from the Olympic committee. “I don’t think it was O.K. for them to pass the buck,†Ms. Williams said of the committee’s initial deference to sports bodies. “If there are Russian athletes who do meet the criteria, it’s going to be very hard for another athlete to go up against them.†Sunday’s announcement addressed the allegations — confirmed by the recent investigation — that government-facilitated doping in Russia corrupted the results of many sports in the Summer and Winter Olympics. Pressure to discipline Russia had mounted in recent months. Russia’s track and field team was barred by that sport’s governing body in June, a decision that withstood a court challenge last week. Russia’s weight-lifting team, too, has faced a ban. Track and field officials had allowed Russian athletes to petition to compete; they rejected more than 60 applications and approved just two — including one from a Russian whistle-blower, Yuliya Stepanova, who had spoken out against widespread doping in Russia and been branded a traitor by Russian officials. On Sunday, Olympic officials rejected Ms. Stepanova’s participation in the Olympics as a neutral athlete. “She put her life on the line,†Ms. Williams said, expressing disappointment at that decision. Joseph de Pencier, chief executive of the Institute of National Anti-Doping Organizations, a trade group, called Sunday “a sad day for clean sport,†criticizing the Olympic committee for its failure to take stronger action. Katie Uhlaender, a winter Olympian, wondered about the implications for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. The recent investigation confirmed that Russian officials had tampered with doping samples. Ms. Uhlaender placed fourth behind a Russian athlete who won a bronze medal and was identified as having been on the state doping program. “Are they going to let Sochi be swept under the rug?†Ms. Uhlaender said on Sunday. “The Russians have a lot of money, and the sports federations don’t. We’re looking for leadership to take a hard line.†The I.O.C.’s deliberations stemmed from a confession by the longtime director of Russia’s antidoping lab, Grigory Rodchenkov, who told The New York Times last spring in detail how Russian officials had perpetrated one of the most elaborate doping programs in sports history. He shared spreadsheets of the athletes who participated in it and a recipe of the three-drug cocktail of steroids and liquor he had devised for them ahead of the 2012 Summer Games in London. When Russia hosted the 2014 Sochi Olympics, he said, the country saw it as an opportunity to manipulate lab results and to dope throughout competition, prompting Dr. Rodchenkov and Russia’s intelligence service to tamper with athlete samples nightly at the Games. “It was very serious work — deliberate, structured, the best hands in Russia,†Dr. Rodchenkov said, reflecting on the scheme with pride for having successfully executed such complex orders. Dr. Rodchenkov suggested that Russia should be barred from the Rio Games. “If you’re fighting doping, Russia should be withdrawn from the Olympics,†Dr. Rodchenkov said in Los Angeles in May, as he told how he had spent nearly every night at the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic lab in Sochi working with members of Russia’s intelligence service to swap out the athletes’ steroid-tainted urine. The World Antidoping Agency commissioned an investigation into Dr. Rodchenkov’s account. Last week, the Canadian lawyer who conducted the inquiry said that forensic evidence, computer records and corroborating interviews had confirmed the detailed schemes Dr. Rodchenkov had described. Russian officials, however, continue to reject Dr. Rodchenkov’s accounts and the evidence collected in the inquiry. In presenting Russia’s case to the International Olympic Committee before its decision on Sunday, the head of Russia’s Olympic Committee, Alexander Zhukov, said that Dr. Rodchenkov was a man of “very questionable reputation†and that his testimony could not be credible, given that he was the “central figure in the criminal scheme that he had created.†Mr. Zhukov urged the Olympic committee not to become “hostages of geopolitical pressure,†echoing statements by Mr. Putin that scrutiny of Russia’s doping record was politically motivated. Though Dr. Rodchenkov said that he thought all nations were guilty of doping, he thought it was fair to pay particular attention to Russia, as the I.O.C. did on Sunday. "At such a level of state involvement, no other country could do this,†he said in May. “Only such a country like Russia. Thanks to God we can now speak — sorry about Russia, but I am watching from the silos with all of these missiles.†Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h0neanias 13,516 Posted July 24, 2016 Share Posted July 24, 2016 I think it's an acceptable compromise, though just barely. I would understand a complete ban as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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