Russia yesterday called into question the veracity of a new report by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) which accused Russian athletes of still doping, but it promised to facilitate the agency’s work.
Russia is bracing itself for a decision by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) today which could determine whether its athletes can take part in the Rio Olympics in August.
In its report, WADA concluded that Russian athletes continued to fail drug tests and obstruct doping control officers.
It was the latest in a long line of setbacks for Russia’s sporting image which have infuriated the Kremlin and drawn allegations from some officials of a deliberate Western smear campaign against Russia.
“I do not know what these assertions are based on. They need to be thoroughly analysed by our sport experts,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters yesterday.
“It’s not clear what WADA is basing all this on. There have been allegations (in the past) where WADA has based its results on concrete tests,” he said. “But what are these (latest) allegations based on?”
The IAAF suspended Russia last year over concerns its athletes were guilty of systematic doping. Today, it will rule whether Moscow has done enough since then to have the ban reversed.
Peskov declined to say if the Kremlin would consider legal action if the IAAF ruled against Russia, a course of action Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has not ruled out.
Reacting to WADA’s damning report, Mutko said yesterday the authorities were ready to assist the agency in testing Russian sports people for doping any way it could and in any part of Russia.
WADA had complained that testers were routinely obstructed from gaining access to special closed military cities in Russia where athletes sometimes train.
Drug testers were reportedly intimidated when accessing military cities by armed agents threatening them with expulsion from the country, it said, and once allowed to enter, security staff created significant delays for them.
“I tell you once again: If you need any assistance from the government, just say so. We will do anything we can for (WADA) officers to be able to visit any city, even the ones with limited access,” Interfax news agency quoted Mutko as saying.
It was widely assumed at the time of the March vote, and indeed suggested by IAAF president Sebastian Coe, that if the suspension was to remain in place after today then Russia would automatically be unable to take part in track and field at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in August.
However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has since said that the final decision will be taken by them at a meeting in Lausanne on June 21, amid concerns that clean athletes will suffer for the sins of their teammates and federation.
“I cannot speculate,” IOC president Thomas Bach said this month when asked if the IOC would be prepared to overrule the sport’s governing body.
“This meeting on the 21st will be to protect the clean athletes and ensure a level playing field for all the athletes participating in Rio,” he said.
Many observers took this to mean that the IOC was ready to overturn any IAAF ban, though the idea that athletes who could “prove” they were clean might be invited was widely dismissed, as any who have not tested positive would claim that status.
The IAAF has also given little away this week, saying: “Our Council is meeting to see what progress has been made and to decide whether Russia’s athletes continue to be excluded.
However, Bach’s comments have sparked a rash of rumours, speculation and off-the-record whisperings.
Further clouding the issue is the fact that some IAAF Council members — Sergey Bubka, Nawal El Moutawakel and Frank Fredericks — are also IOC members.
Bach has had a long and fruitful relationship with Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, not least because of the huge investment the country made to put on the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014.
“Putin has 50 billion reasons to expect a favour from the IOC,” one source told Reuters, referring the dollar cost of Sochi, and echoing the thoughts of many that the political pressure to include Russia would outweigh the benefit of a ban.
Other sources close to the situation have told Reuters they think Bach’s comments have given the IAAF a clear run to maintain the ban, and the integrity of athletics amid widespread doping problems in other sports, safe in the knowledge that the IOC will effectively overturn it for the Olympics.