The leaking of a draft letter urging a complete ban on Russian athletes at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics has undermined a key report into doping allegations at the 2014 Sochi Games, WADA board member Nenad Lalovic said yesterday.
The leaked letter, addressed to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), backed by several anti-doping agencies and circulated to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) athlete committee, called for all Russian athletes to be banned from the Rio Games.
Russia’s track and field athletes are already banned from competing in Rio by the International Association of Athletics’ Federations (IAAF) over widespread doping in the sport.
The letter was due to be sent once a report into allegations of state-backed doping at the Sochi winter Olympics led by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren is presented today.
Lalovic, who heads United World Wrestling and is also a member of WADA’s foundation board, said the letter would weaken the McLaren report, if it offered clear evidence of doping offences.
“Unfortunately this report is harmed by all the events before the report is public,” Lalovic told Reuters.
“Obviously the report focuses on the situation in Russia but we cannot generalise. Of course it has been harmed now.
“Nobody will now take it as seriously as it should be because it seems that a lot was known in advance.”
The letter, obtained by Reuters on Saturday, was drafted by United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart and his Canadian counterpart Paul Melia.
It has the support of several other anti-doping bodies including Germany, New Zealand and Japan, as well as some athletes groups, according to Tygart and Melia.
It was also circulated to WADA’s Athlete Committee members by Canada’s Beckie Scott, who chairs the committee, asking whether they would support it.
Lalovic said he had not received a copy of the letter despite being on WADA’s decision-making body.
“If we have drafts of letters being circulated asking to ban all Russian athletes then that is strange,” Lalovic, who is also an IOC member said.
“USADA should be focused on the health of American athletes and those competing in the United States. Now it seems that USADA and the Canadians took over responsibility of WADA. Nobody entitled them to do that.”
Swimming’s world body FINA also criticised the leak.
“FINA is concerned by the premature calls from US and Canadian Anti-doping authorities to ban Russia from Rio 2016 Olympic Games several days ahead of the publication of the independent McLaren report,” it said in a statement.
“FINA is also concerned that there has been a drive behind the scenes...to get a global coalition .... to support the call for the total ban on Russia. All of this is based on the findings of the McLaren Report which is meant to have been independent and confidential. “Such breaches of confidentiality and the perception of a breach of independence of the report undermine its credibility.”

GLOBAL COALITION
“A global group that includes various athletes committees and anti-doping organisations, including those of the United States, Germany, Japan and New Zealand, are preparing for the McLaren report,” Melia told Reuters.
“If the McLaren report produces clear and convincing evidence of state-sponsored doping in sport in Russia, they are prepared to call on the IOC to ban the Russian Olympic Committee from the Games in Rio.”
Tygart, in a statement emailed to Reuters when asked about the draft letter, said: “We always want universal inclusion at the Olympic Games, but we can’t be blind to the evidence before us, and if we – as those who cherish the Olympic values – are not preparing for all potential outcomes, then we are not fulfilling our promise to clean athletes.”
The draft letter has also been circulated to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) Athlete Committee members by Canada’s Beckie Scott, who chairs the committee, asking whether they agree to support it.
“The letter outlines a basis for suspension of the Russian NOC (National Olympic Committee) from Rio, in light of the evidence and information that will come as a result of this report, and aligns very much with the position we have taken so far in this (long) process,” Scott wrote in an e-mail dated July 16.
IOC President Thomas Bach said last month that individual Russian track and field athletes assessed as clean would be able to compete for their country in Brazil. “My concern is that there seems to have been an attempt to agree an outcome before any evidence has been presented,” IOC Executive Board member Patrick Hickey said.
“Such interference and calls ahead of the McLaren Report publication are totally against internationally recognised fair legal process and may have completely undermined the integrity and therefore the credibility of this important report.”
WADA set up an investigation under McLaren to probe allegations of state-backed doping at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

Europe opposition to Russia Olympic ban pleases Mutko
Russia’s sports minister Vitaly Mutko said yesterday he was pleased with European Olympic Committee (EOC) president Pat Hickey’s opposition to a North American-led campaign to ban Russia from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
“The statement by Hickey is very important,” TASS news agency quoted Mutko as saying.
Earlier on Sunday Hickey said he was “shocked” by a move led by the United States and Canada’s anti-doping agencies to have Russia completely banned from the Summer Games, which start in Rio on August 5.
The move pre-empted the release on Monday of a report into allegations of Russian doping carried out for WADA by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren.
Mutko said that Hickey “is quite right when he says that the move by USADA puts in question the independence and the confidentiality of the investigation by the WADA commission.”
“Now it’s clear what will happen after the report by McLaren: a news conference and pressure on Russia.”
Hickey said he was alerted to the move when the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s athletes commission sent out an appeal for backing for the campaign.
McLaren is expected to report on Monday on his investigation into allegations that the Russian government manipulated doping samples taken at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics to protect Russian competitors.
McLaren has investigated allegations made by former Moscow doping laboratory director Grigory Rodchenkov that even Russian secret services took part in an operation to manipulate Russian doping samples at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
Russia is already barred from international athletics by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
But the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) could rule as early as Tuesday on an appeal by 68 Russian athletes who say they should be allowed to compete in Rio. Pole vault star Yelena Isinbayeva is among the 68 hoping for a last-minute ticket to Rio from CAS. “It’s necessary to understand that by blaming us you also blame yourself,” Mutko added, addressing WADA, arguing that both RUSADA and Moscow’s anti-doping laboratory are currently part of WADA’s internal structure. “Russia is open. We’re ready to do everything at the top level. That’s our philosophy,” Mutko said.