Russia’s 2016 Rio Olympic Team Decimated By Doping Scandal

When the systemic doping program involving Russian athletes exploded into a full-blown scandal, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was backed into a corner.

On the one hand, declaring a ban on all Russian athletes from the 2016 Rio Olympics would have been the logical move. But the decision to give permission on a case-by-case basis also highlights the politics surrounding the games.

According to the CBC, if the IOC banned all Russian athletes from the Olympics, it would have faced so many lawsuits it would make the heads of the organizers spin. Even without a lawsuit, the Court of Arbitration for Sport might have also interjected to overturn the total ban against the Russian delegation.

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John Coates, IOC vice president, told the network that ultimately, the main purpose was fair play. While that means banning Russian athletes who are found positive for doping in order to protect the other international contingents, it also means that Russian athletes who are clean should not be penalized for the actions of their peers.

Atty. Leanne Standryk added that a universal ban from the IOC “would not have been upheld.”

“From a legal perspective, the IOC is required to ensure that it upholds the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness,” she said.

The Russian doping scandal was brought to the world’s attention by the German documentary in 2014, which detailed accounts of athletes, coaches, and officials who admitted that government officials have been helping competitors get access to performance-enhancing drugs, said the New York Times.

Aside from giving athletes dope, Russian officials also allegedly covered up their tracks by switching the urine samples with clean ones.

As a result, the World Anti-Doping Agency launched a probe and vetted the information in the documentary. The results of its investigation, however, were limited to track and field athletes.

The Russian Ministry of Sports in a statement admitted that they are having problems with doping. Meanwhile, the ministry also accused the whistleblower of having an agenda, since he was earlier fired “for manipulating tests.”

Russian anti-doping boss says she can guarantee only clean athletes will go to the Rio Games https://t.co/A1kv4Fc62d pic.twitter.com/zehhRlclhX

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 25, 2016

The number of Russian athletes banned from participating in the 2016 Rio Olympics is varied.

The article from British tabloid Daily Mail claimed that all the 387-strong contingent of Russia would be barred from the summer run of the games starting this August 5. Not only that, the contingent may also have to skip the 2018 Winter Olympics in Russia if the move of some quarters materialized, the article said.

Apparently, some officials want to make an example of Russia as a warning to other nations that the committee takes cheating very seriously.

“The IOC want to ban Russia to show [doping] is an assault on the whole of sport,” the alleged insider said. “That effectively means expulsion from Rio.”

. @nytimes and @RebeccaRuiz please see comments from the Russian Ministry of Sport pic.twitter.com/k7E7unW3f7

— Natalia Zhelanova (@Zhelanova) May 12, 2016

The National Post claimed that only 87 Russian athletes were grounded by the IOC so far. Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said their government is taking the steroid scandal very seriously.

“The topic of the recent International Olympic Committee ruling relating to Russian athletes was raised ahead of Putin’s planned meeting tomorrow with the Russian Olympic team,” he said.

However, an Associated Press article, as published by the Star, revealed that over 100 Russian athletes have so far been barred from participating in the 2016 Rio Olympics. That means Russia’s hopes for medals in track and field, canoeing, swimming, sailing, and pentathlon have all been dashed.

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Among those who will skip Rio is Alexander Dyachenko, a champion canoeist who participated in the London games in 2012.

Nevertheless, some Russian athletes said a total ban from the 2016 Rio Olympics would have meant a watered down competition. Like pentathlete Aleksander Lesun said, “You need strong competition for it to count.”

[Photo by Artyom Korotayev]