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Fifteen of the 28 Russian athletes who had their lifetime Olympic bans overturned by the court of arbitration for sport last week will know by Tuesday whether they can compete in the Winter Olympics which begin in Pyeongchang on Friday.
Thomas Bach, the International Olympic Committee president, confirmed on Sunday morning that the cases of 13 athletes and two coaches had been passed to its independent review of anti-doping experts who would rule shortly.
“Receiving this invitation is a privilege for a clean Russian athlete,” Bach said. “We have forwarded these cases to the independent panel for review. I hope very much that this decision will come in the next couple of days.”
However, Bach said that, regardless of the panel’s decision, the IOC could yet appeal against Cas’s verdict that there was “insufficient evidence” to uphold the suspensions issued by the IOC following an investigation into state-sponsored doping at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
“Yes, we are considering it,” he said. “[But] you can only look into an appeal seriously when you have the reasoned decision, which we do not have. We need the reasoned decision to see whether we have any prospect of success. If we have any such prospect, we will appeal.”
The IOC has been told it may be the end of February before the reasoned decision is available, something Bach described as “extremely unsatisfactory”. So far 169 Russian athletes have been invited to compete in Pyeongchang, competing under the Olympic flag.
Acting Aiba President Gafur Rakhimov attended a boxing event at the Bolshoy Ice Dome in Sochi on Saturday. Photograph: Valery Sharifulin/Tass
Those athletes hoping to be promoted to the podium following the findings against Russian athletes have a further wait for their medals. “With regards to the reallocation of medals, we have to wait until all legal remedies are exhausted,” Bach said. “Unfortunately, here in Pyeongchang, this reallocation of medals cannot happen yet.” He added the IOC is still to receive from the Russian Olympic Committee the $15m fine demanded in December.
Bach also insisted that the IOC’s pre-Olympics testing was the most rigorous it had ever been, with over 16,760 tests targeted by sport, nationality and information. It comes after a report in the Sunday Times suggested that more than 50 skiers on the qualification list for Pyeongchang had recorded abnormal blood test scores that suggest they may have cheated in the past yet escaped sanction.
According to the paper, the database – which contained blood test results for cross-country skiers from 2001 to 2010 with many listed still competing today – was leaked by a whistleblower with serious concerns about the integrity of the Games.
It quoted one expert, James Stray-Gundersen, an American physician who has worked with the International Ski Federation, who said: “There are a significant number of medallists that had abnormal or highly abnormal blood profile results that suggested there is a significant incidence of doping.”
Meanwhile the former head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Dick Pound, has expressed concern about Cas’s decision to disregard 40 years of legal precedent in anti-doping cases by insisting on absolute “proof” rather than a “beyond reasonable doubt” conclusion in the case of the 28 Russians who had their bans overturned last Thursday.
“At the moment it is a little bit like wrestling with a bowl of jello,” Pound told the website insidethegames. “The facts were verified by Richard McLaren’s investigation and then by Schmid and Oswald [commissioned by the IOC] and there is not a shadow of a doubt in my mind that it is all correct. If it is the case that Cas insisted on absolute proof, then the entire anti-doping movement is critically wounded.”
Pound, who is also an IOC member, told the website “I don’t know” when asked if he believed the IOC could have deliberately set-up their cases to fail. He added: “But, if it is ever proved to be true, it will be devastating for the IOC and Olympic Movement and a severe body blow for the anti-doping movement. How could you possibly convince athletes of sport’s commitment to anti-doping?”
Bach also suggested that boxing’s place at the 2020 Olympics could be in jeopardy if Aiba’s governance did not improve. “The IOC reserves the right to review the inclusion of boxing on the programme of the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 and the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020,” a statement read on Sunday
(GUARDIAN)
