Галагазета | IOC Decision Will Only Be Welcomed In Moscow
IOC Decision Will Only Be Welcomed In Moscow _mz_smart_, 26 июля 2016 г., 8:35
IOC President Thomas Bach
Presented with a mountain of evidence that Russia systematically corrupted Olympic sport, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has responded with a compromise that will be welcome only in the Kremlin and among the 387 athletes who may now get to Rio after all.
That the Russian state executed a systematic doping programme to maximise success in winter and summer Olympics is not in question.
The IOC does not even refer to ''allegations'' when discussing the findings of the report published by Dr Richard McLaren last week.
It believes his assessment that the secret service colluded in a doping cover-up at the Sochi Games.
Nor do they question findings that implicate athletes in 20 of 28 summer Olympic sports.
Yet presented with the opportunity to send the most powerful message at its disposal and tell Russia's Olympic Committee it was not welcome in Rio, the IOC and its President blinked.
Instead of an outright ban, the IOC proclaimed it was putting every individual athlete's rights first.
It is a fudge that is barely credible or feasible given only 12 short days remain until the Russian team (minus track and field athletes who remain banned) march into the Maracana behind their flag for the Rio 2016 opening ceremony.
Instead of a blanket ban, individual sports will now decide which Russians can compete based on criteria set down by the IOC.
The method is at least consistent with the treatment of Russian track and field athletes by the IAAF, which is where the mushrooming scandal began.
IAAF President Lord Coe and his colleagues banned Russia last November and the IOC accepted their judgment.
But if the precedent works, the logic does not.
The IAAF has had since last November to resolve the case, helped by multiple inspections and a rolling dialogue with the Russian authorities.
If they still were not happy after 10 long months, how can 27 other summer sports reach a credible conclusion in less than a fortnight?
In a sign of just how stringent the new criteria may prove to be, the ruling bodies of tennis and triathlon took less than five hours to declare that they had no concerns about their Russians.
At least two other sports declared their hand even before the IOC decision with swimming and judo, both of beneficiaries of Russian support for their major competitions, saying last week they did not back expulsion.
Little wonder that the head of the United States Anti-Doping Agency described it as a ''glaring'' conflict of interest.
Not all of this is the IOC's fault.
They did not decide the timetable for McLaren's report, which was only commissioned in response to allegations from the former head of Russia's anti-doping laboratory published in the New York Times in May.
And their frustration with the World Anti-Doping Agency's failure to identify the failings of the Russian anti-doping operation is matched only by WADA's frustration with its stakeholders, including the IOC, for failing to provide adequate funding for them to do the job.
Most of all, none of the blazered agencies that administer sport can be blamed for the fact Vladimir Putin and his sports minister Vitaly Mutko indulged a sports regime on the Cold War model.
It is an extension of the state that hosts major events and sweeps up medals in order to bolster morale at home, and demonstrate Russian prowess on the international stage.
But the failure to act sooner on concerns over Russia, many of which date back more than three years, lies squarely at the feet of those who enjoy the fruits of international sports administration but now pass blame around like the pudding wine.
The mess of this ruling is the result. Among the many issues, two stand out.
The public are expected to take promises of a ''rigorous out-of-competition testing programme'' seriously with only 12 days to do it.
And the decision to ban Russians who have served doping bans, when athletes from elsewhere including US sprinter Justin Gatlin are free to compete in Rio, establishes a double standard, though not one that will garner much sympathy.
IOC President Thomas Bach, whose closeness to Putin in the build-up to the Sochi Games was inescapable, insists this decision was driven by a desire for justice on behalf of clean Russian athletes who might be wronged by a blanket ban.
Clean athletes who have been cheated by Russians in recent years might ask why more thought was not given to them.
The public, expected to tune in and delight in the Rio Games next month, might wonder why the organisation that claims to guard the Olympic values was so quick to forgive a state that appears to hold it its every principle in contempt.
BeNnY
Source: news.sky.com/story/ioc-decision-will-only-be-welcomed-in-moscow-10511710
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IOC President Thomas Bach Presented with a mountain of evidence that Russia systematically corrupted Olympic sport, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has responded with a compromise that will be welcome only in the Kremlin and among the 387 athletes who may now get to Rio after all. That the Russian state executed a systematic doping programme to maximise success in winter and summer Olympics is not in question. The IOC does not even refer to ''allegations'' when discussing the findings of the report published by Dr Richard McLaren last week. It believes his assessment that the secret service colluded in a doping cover-up at the Sochi Games. Nor do they question findings that implicate athletes in 20 of 28 summer Olympic sports. Yet presented with the opportunity to send the most powerful message at its disposal and tell Russia's Olympic Committee it was not welcome in Rio, the IOC and its President blinked. Instead of an outright ban, the IOC proclaimed it was putting every individual athlete's rights first. It is a fudge that is barely credible or feasible given only 12 short days remain until the Russian team (minus track and field athletes who remain banned) march into the Maracana behind their flag for the Rio 2016 opening ceremony. Instead of a blanket ban, individual sports will now decide which Russians can compete based on criteria set down by the IOC. The method is at least consistent with the treatment of Russian track and field athletes by the IAAF, which is where the mushrooming scandal began. IAAF President Lord Coe and his colleagues banned Russia last November and the IOC accepted their judgment. But if the precedent works, the logic does not. The IAAF has had since last November to resolve the case, helped by multiple inspections and a rolling dialogue with the Russian authorities. If they still were not happy after 10 long months, how can 27 other summer sports reach a credible conclusion in less than a fortnight? In a sign of just how stringent the new criteria may prove to be, the ruling bodies of tennis and triathlon took less than five hours to declare that they had no concerns about their Russians. At least two other sports declared their hand even before the IOC decision with swimming and judo, both of beneficiaries of Russian support for their major competitions, saying last week they did not back expulsion. Little wonder that the head of the United States Anti-Doping Agency described it as a ''glaring'' conflict of interest. Not all of this is the IOC's fault. They did not decide the timetable for McLaren's report, which was only commissioned in response to allegations from the former head of Russia's anti-doping laboratory published in the New York Times in May. And their frustration with the World Anti-Doping Agency's failure to identify the failings of the Russian anti-doping operation is matched only by WADA's frustration with its stakeholders, including the IOC, for failing to provide adequate funding for them to do the job. Most of all, none of the blazered agencies that administer sport can be blamed for the fact Vladimir Putin and his sports minister Vitaly Mutko indulged a sports regime on the Cold War model. It is an extension of the state that hosts major events and sweeps up medals in order to bolster morale at home, and demonstrate Russian prowess on the international stage. But the failure to act sooner on concerns over Russia, many of which date back more than three years, lies squarely at the feet of those who enjoy the fruits of international sports administration but now pass blame around like the pudding wine. The mess of this ruling is the result. Among the many issues, two stand out. The public are expected to take promises of a ''rigorous out-of-competition testing programme'' seriously with only 12 days to do it. And the decision to ban Russians who have served doping bans, when athletes from elsewhere including US sprinter Justin Gatlin are free to compete in Rio, establishes a double standard, though not one that will garner much sympathy. IOC President Thomas Bach, whose closeness to Putin in the build-up to the Sochi Games was inescapable, insists this decision was driven by a desire for justice on behalf of clean Russian athletes who might be wronged by a blanket ban. Clean athletes who have been cheated by Russians in recent years might ask why more thought was not given to them. The public, expected to tune in and delight in the Rio Games next month, might wonder why the organisation that claims to guard the Olympic values was so quick to forgive a state that appears to hold it its every principle in contempt. BeNnY Source: news.sky.com/story/ioc-decision-will-only-be-welcomed-in-moscow-10511710
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