A U.S. newspaper is reporting that, for the first time, Russia has admitted that its officials carried out a massive Olympic doping program that reached beyond the Sochi Winter Games. However, Russia鈥檚 anti-doping agency says it did not admit to a conspiracy.
According to a published in the New York Times on Wednesday, Russian officials, including Anna Antseliovich, acting director general of Russia鈥檚 national anti-doping agency, say they no longer dispute the alleged doping scandal that has dogged Russian sports institutions and athletes.
Sources cited as being close to the scandal told the newspaper that Russia Olympians used steroids for decades, tampering with urine samples at the Sochi Olympics, and covering up banned-substance use by competing athletes.
The Times reports Antseliovich said, in an interview, that the operation was an 鈥渋nstitutional conspiracy,鈥� emphasizing that the Russian government鈥檚 top officials were not involved and that the incidents were not state-sponsored.
responding to the New York Times article, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) wrote that Antseliovich鈥檚 words were taken 鈥渙ut of context, creating an impression that RUSADA management admits to the existence of such institutional conspiracy of doping cover-up in Russia. We would like to stress that RUSADA has no authority or deny any such fact, since the investigation of the case is handled by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.鈥�
Recent and widespread allegations of doping has created turmoil in the Russian and international athletic community. In the wake of the allegations, Russia鈥檚 track and field team has been barred from international competition, and the country鈥檚 drug-testing operations have been decertified.
Russia鈥檚 place as a frequent host of global sports competitions has also been affected. Numerous competitions slated for early 2017 have been relocated to other nations.
Now, a commission has been formed and tasked with overhauling Russia鈥檚 anti-doping system in order to satisfy global authorities. And while dozens of athletes have already been penalized, more than 650 additional athletes have also been accused of doping.
In an interview on 麻豆影视 Channel on Wednesday, World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren suggested that officials are trying to do some damage control.
Following a July report, McLaren published a new report in December with evidence that prompted the International Olympic Committee to begin disciplinary proceedings against additional Russian athletes.
鈥淚 think they鈥檙e in search of the way out of the problems,鈥� McLaren said of the admission. 鈥淎nd part of that search has to be some kind of at least implicit recognition that things were not right in Russia and that they needed to be corrected and I think that鈥檚 exactly what they鈥檙e doing right now.鈥�
New York Times interview with Russian officials comes after supposedly tamper-proof bottles containing Russian athletes doping samples from Sochi were allegedly manipulated, enabling officials to switch out their steroid-laced urine.
鈥淭here were other systems in operation, but that was the key one that started the investigation,鈥� McLaren said of the Sochi urine-swapping.
McLaren says Russians 鈥渢ake a different view of what state-sponsored鈥� means, compared to the view other countries may take.
鈥淭hey think of state-sponsored as being (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and his inner circle and no others and certainly in that regard, if you take that as the definition, then it鈥檚 not a state-sponsored system,鈥� McLaren said, adding he has 鈥渘o evidence鈥� that any senior Russian officials with Putin鈥檚 inner circle 鈥渉ad anything to do with this.鈥�
In terms of further fallout and possible penalties, McLaren said that it鈥檚 now in the hands of various sports federation, including The International Olympic Committee.
鈥淭alking Sochi, it means that all the athletes that we鈥檝e reported on 鈥� that information is in the hands of winter sports federations and it鈥檚 over to them to act on it and determine what should be done, and what sort of sanctions,鈥� McLaren said.
If any medal-winner is sanctioned, McLaren said, then the IOC would become involved and would they would consider on a case-by-case basis, reasons for taking the medals away and re-allocating to them to other athletes who competed in the events.
