Russian Reputation Slammed By Sports Anti-Doping Agency

In a stunning report, the World Anti-Doping Agency accused Russia of outright state sponsored sports doping and cover up as a matter of widespread government sanctioned routine. Further, it claimed the Russian state intelligence agency officials regularly visited labs and instructed them to not cooperate with WADA probes and that more than a thousand potentially damning samples were intentionally destroyed.

WADA is recommending to the International Association of Athletics Federations that Russia be declared "noncompliant" and thus suspended from participation in IAAF events. This would mean that Russians would not be allowed to join upcoming international sporting events like the Olympics and the World Cup.

In their own defense, Russia is claiming that the report was politically motivated reprisal because of unrest and anti-Russian sentiments by the Ukraine.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/russia-slammed-doping-report-faces-olympic-ban-35069079

 

Well, it's done. Russia is suspended by IAAF, by vote of 22-1.Interestingly, what's not talked about here is that the previous medals and records attained by the Russians during the last Olympiad may be at risk of nullification if their winners are thus retroactively disqualified.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/14/uk-athletics-corruption-idUKKCN0T22IX20151114

 

Really? I beg to differ...

Who won the gold in 1968? Or in 1980? The problem with fans remembering is, that fans get old and memories fade. Records are what endures. Having one's athletes stricken from the records is exactly the sort of thing that the Russians would hate as it means that all their work was for nothing except a few fleeting rounds of applause.

Moreover, if they're further disqualified, then they won't even be allowed to compete, and that's probably the biggest slap in the face for the Russians; where they're not only without acclaim, but they're banned because of dishonesty. Or, behavior that is as unsportsmanlike as they come.

 

Absolutely true on both accounts. Die hard fans want immediate gratification, but sports historians prefer the latter. And yes, from my understanding, the Russians have been effectively banned by the IAAF; until they can prove to the IAAF that they're clean, they won't be allowed to compete anymore.

Spoiler: According to this article

In a hurry? Just Read The Bold Red Text for a synopsis of the story.

IAAF suspends Russia's track and field federation, athletes could miss Olympics in Rio


IAAF President Sebastian Coe gives a statement to journalists outside his office in London, Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. Russia's track and field federation has been suspended by governing body IAAF. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Associated Press
Nov. 13, 2015 | 7:28 p.m. EST

By STEPHEN WILSON, AP Sports Writer

LONDON (AP) — Calling it a wake-up call for a sport in a "shameful" position, IAAF President Sebastian Coe said Russia will be banned from next year's Olympics unless it convinces the world it has cleaned up its act on doping. The sport's governing body provisionally suspended Russia's track and field federation on Friday, four days after the country was accused of operating a vast, state-sponsored doping program in a damning report by a World Anti-Doping Agency commission. The move bars Russia from all international track and field competition for an indefinite period, including the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, until the country is judged to have fixed its problems and fallen into line with global anti-doping rules.

Coe called the decision — approved 22-1 in a secret vote of the IAAF council via teleconference — "the toughest sanction we can apply at this time." It's the first time the International Association of Athletics Federations has ever banned a country over its doping failures. "The whole system has failed the athletes, not just in Russia but around the world," Coe said after a meeting that lasted nearly 3 1/2 hours. "This has been a shameful wake-up call and we are clear that cheating at any level will not be tolerated."

"It makes me angry," added Coe, a two-time Olympic 1,500-meter champion from Britain. "We find ourselves in a shameful position tonight." Coe, who was elected IAAF president in August, had been under heavy pressure to take tough action, despite efforts by Russian officials to avoid a blanket ban by agreeing to cooperate and make reforms in their anti-doping system. "This is not about politics, this is about protection of clean athletes," Coe said. "It is why our council has sent such a strong message."

Coe said Russia will need to fulfill "a list of criteria" to win reinstatement. An independent inspection team led by Norwegian anti-doping expert Rune Andersen will be appointed in the next few days to verify Russia's progress. Still uncertain is whether the Russian federation will be able to reform in time for its athletes to compete at the Rio Games, which run from Aug. 5-21. "It is entirely up to the Russian federation and Russia to enact those changes," Coe said. "Our verification team will be tough. ... It is for the IAAF and no other organization to make that judgment. We will get the change that we want and only then will Russian athletes be able to return to competition."

Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said he is hopeful Russia will be able to compete at the world indoor championships in Portland, Oregon, from March 17-20. "Anyway, the main thing is the Olympics," he said. Unless the Russian federation voluntarily accepts a full suspension, the IAAF will hold a hearing to elevate the provisional penalty to a full suspension. Russia will also be stripped of hosting the world race walking team championships in Cheboksary from May 7-15, and the world junior championships in Kazan from July 19-24. Russian athletes are eligible to compete in their own national events during the ban. Russia's IAAF council member, Mikhail Butov, addressed Friday's meeting but did not take part in the vote. He said Russia's return to competition "will depend on how convincing we are with our case and how objective the commission is." "We'll work with them," he told reporters in Moscow.

WADA called the IAAF decision "positive news for clean athletes worldwide." It came on the same day that a WADA committee found Russia's national anti-doping agency to be non-compliant with its code. The findings will go to the WADA foundation board, which will vote on it next Wednesday in Colorado Springs, Colorado. WADA has already suspended the anti-doping laboratory in Moscow.

Travis Tygart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, said the IAAF's suspension of Russia was the "only outcome acceptable to clean athletes." "The real test now is to ensure full justice and accountability for all their actions before being allowed to compete again," he said. Coe announced that Paul Deighton, who served as chief executive of the organizing committee for the 2012 London Olympics, will oversee a program of reform of the IAAF's governance. Coe also said he will create an "integrity unit" dealing with doping, illegal betting, age cheating and corruption. "We need to look at ourselves within our sport, my organization as well," Coe said, "and we will do that."

Source: http://www.usnews.com/news/world/ar...ffer-broad-cooperation-in-effort-to-avoid-ban