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Doping in Russia

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Doping in Russian sports is a significant issue. Media attention grew after December 2014, when German broadcaster ARD reported on state-sponsored doping in Russia, comparing it to doping in East Germany. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) published a report in November 2015 which was highly critical of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) and the All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF).[1][2] In November 2015, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) suspended Russia indefinitely from world sports events due to widespread doping.

Doping issues from 2001 to 2009

In 2008, seven Russian track and field athletes were suspended ahead of the Summer Olympics in Beijing for manipulating their urine samples. The president of the International Biathlon Union, Anders Besseberg, said, "We are facing systematic doping on a large scale in one of the strongest teams of the world."[3]

Reviewing 7289 blood samples from 2737 athletes from 2001 to 2009, a report found that the number of suspicious samples from "Country A" notably exceeded other countries.[4] One of the authors said that Country A was Russia.[3]

In October 2009, IAAF general secretary Pierre Weiss wrote to Valentin Balakhnichev that blood samples from Russian athletes "recorded some of the highest values ever seen since the IAAF started testing" and that tests from the 2009 World Championships "strongly suggest a systematic abuse of blood doping or EPO-related products."[5]

Allegations of state-sponsored doping and 2014 ARD documentary

In 2010, an employee at the Russian Anti-Doping Agency RUSADA, Vitaly Stepanov, began sending information to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) alleging that RUSADA was enabling systemic doping in athletics.[6][7] He said that he sent 200 emails and 50 letters over three years.[8] In December 2012, Darya Pishchalnikova sent an email to WADA containing details on an alleged state-run doping program in Russia. According to The New York Times, the email reached three top WADA officials but the agency decided not to open an inquiry and instead sent her email to Russian sports officials.[3]

According to Stepanov, "Even at WADA there were people who didn't want this story out" but he said that a person at the organisation connected him with the German broadcaster ARD.[6] In December 2014, ARD aired a documentary by Hajo Seppelt – Geheimsache Doping: Wie Russland seine Sieger macht (The Doping Secret: How Russia Creates Champions). The documentary alleged Russian state involvement in systematic doping, which it described as "East German-style".[9] It includes statements by Stepanov and his wife, Yuliya Stepanova (née Rusanova), alleging that Russian athletics officials supplied banned substances in exchange for 5% of an athlete's earnings and falsified tests together with doping control officers.[10][11] Russian long-distance runner Liliya Shobukhova allegedly paid 450,000 euros to cover up her positive doping result.[10]

Aftermath

2015

In January 2015, then-ARAF President Valentin Balakhnichev resigned as treasurer of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).[12]

In response to the ARD documentary, WADA commissioned an investigation, the report of which was published on 9 November 2015.[13] The 323-page document, described as "damning" by The Guardian,[2] reported widespread doping and large-scale cover-ups by the Russian authorities. It recommended that ARAF be declared non-compliant with respect to the World Anti-Doping Code, and recommended that the International Olympic Committee not accept any entries from ARAF until compliance was reached.[13][14] On 13 November, the IAAF council voted 22–1 in favour of prohibiting Russia from world sports events with immediate effect.[15] Under other penalties against the ARAF, Russia has been also prohibited from hosting the 2016 World Race Walking Team Championships (Cheboksary) and 2016 World Junior Championships (Kazan), and ARAF must entrust doping cases to Court of Arbitration for Sport.[15]

AFAR accepted the indefinite IAAF suspension and did not request a hearing.[16] ARAF's efforts towards regaining full IAAF membership will be monitored by a five-person IAAF team.[17] On 18 November 2015 WADA suspended RUSADA, meaning that Russia does not have a functioning NADO for any sport.[18][19]

In November 2015, France began a criminal investigation into former IAAF president Lamine Diack, alleging that in 2011 he accepted a 1 million euro bribe from the All-Russia Athletic Federation to cover up positive doping results of at least six Russian athletes.[20]

January to May 2016

In January 2016, the IAAF gave lifetime bans to the former head of the Russian athletics federation, Valentin Balakhnichev, and a top Russian coach, Aleksey Melnikov.[21]

In mid-January, WADA released the second report by its independent commission.[22]

Two former directors of RUSADA, Vyacheslav Sinyev and Nikita Kamaev, died in February 2016.[23] The Sunday Times reported that Kamaev had approached the newspaper shortly before his death planning to publish a book on "the true story of sport pharmacology and doping in Russia since 1987".[24]

In March 2016, ARD broadcast the documentary "Russia's Red Herrings", alleging that athletes were alerted about testing plans and offered banned substances by individuals at RUSADA and ARAF.[25] According to a May 2016 report in The New York Times, the director of a prominent laboratory, Grigory Rodchenkov, said that doping experts collaborated with Russia's intelligence service on a state-sponsored doping programme in which urine samples were switched through a hole in the laboratory's wall.[26] He said that at least fifteen medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics were involved.[26] On 19 May, WADA appointed Richard McLaren to lead an investigation into the Sochi Olympics.[27]

June 2016

An ARD documentary in June 2016 implicated Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko in covering up doping by a football player at FK Krasnodar.[28] In the same month, IAAF deputy general secretary Nick Davies was provisionally suspended over allegations that he took money to delay naming Russian athletes.[29] According to the BBC, emails from July 2013 showed that Davies had discussed how to delay or soften an announcement on Russians who had tested positive.[30]

In June 2016, WADA released a report stating that the work of its Doping Control Officers (DCO) had been limited by a "significant amount of unavailable athlete reports and missed tests", insufficient or incorrect athlete location information, and little information about the location or date of competitions. Some athletes named military cities requiring special permission to enter as their location and some national championships, including Olympic qualifiers, were held in cities with restricted access due to civil conflicts, preventing testing of the competitors.[31] WADA also reported intimidation of DCOs by armed Federal Security Service (FSB) agents; "significant delays" before being allowed to enter venues; consistent monitoring by security staff; delays in receiving athlete lists; and opening of sample packages by Russian customs.[31] 90% of Russian athletes did not respond or "emphatically" refused when WADA requested to interview them as part of its investigation.[32] Director general David Howman stated, "It was the very right time for those who considered themselves clean [to approach WADA]. They had nine months, plenty of time, and none came forward."[32]

On 17 June, the IAAF Council held an extraordinary meeting "principally to give the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) a further opportunity to satisfy the Reinstatement Conditions for IAAF Membership."[33] A taskforce chaired by Rune Andersen recommended against reinstating Russia after reporting that criteria had not been met and that there were "detailed allegations, which are already partly substantiated, that the Russian authorities, far from supporting the anti-doping effort, have in fact orchestrated systematic doping and the covering up of adverse analytical findings."[33] The IAAF voted unanimously to uphold its ban.[34]

A week later, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) decided to give a one-year ban to Russia, along with two other countries; if the IOC ratifies the decision, Russia's weightlifting team would miss the Olympics in Rio.[35]

July 2016

On 18 July 2016, Richard McLaren, a Canadian attorney retained by the World Anti-Doping Agency to investigate allegations made by Grigory Rodchenkov, published a nearly 100 page report covering significant state-sponsored doping in Russia.[36][37] Over a 57 day period, he examined forensic evidence, emails and metadata, concluding that it was shown "beyond a reasonable doubt" that Russia's Ministry of Sports, its anti-doping organization, and Federal Security Service (FSB) had worked to help Russian athletes cheat in the Sochi Games and earlier.[37] The report included that the WADA laboratory in Moscow "operated for the protection of doped Russian athletes" within a "state-directed failsafe system" using "the disappearing positive [test] methodology."[38][39]

Following the report's publication, the International Olympic Committee decided to decline accreditation requests by Russian sports ministry officials and any individuals implicated in the report, to begin re-analysis and a full inquiry into Russian competitors at the Sochi Olympics, and to ask sports federations to seek alternative hosts for major events that had been assigned to Russia.[40][41]

Media coverage

Russian doping has been featured in several documentaries broadcast in Germany, France, and the United States:

  • Geheimsache Doping: Wie Russland seine Sieger macht (The Doping Secret: How Russia Creates Champions), ARD / Das Erste, aired 3 December 2014[10]
  • Geheimsache Doping. Im Schattenreich der Leichtathletik (The Doping Secret: The Shadowy World of Athletics), ARD / Das Erste, aired 1 August 2015[42]
  • Geheimsache Doping: Russlands Täuschungsmanöver (The Doping Secret: Russia's Red Herrings), ARD / Westdeutscher Rundfunk, aired 6 March 2016[25][43]
  • Russia's Dark Secret, 60 Minutes / CBS News, aired 8 May 2016[44]
  • Plus vite, plus haut, plus dopés (Faster, higher, more doped), Arte in partnership with Le Monde, aired 7 June 2016[45]

Reactions

International

Some athletes from other countries have criticised WADA, alleging that the agency has been reluctant to investigate Russia despite multiple tips over several years.[3] WADA officials stated that the agency lacked the authority to carry out its own investigations until 2015.[8][46] Arne Ljungqvist, WADA's former vice chairman, commented that "WADA always had an excuse as to why they wouldn't move forward. They expected Russia to clean up themselves."[3]

In June 2016, The Guardian reported that a letter approved by over twenty athletes' groups from multiple sports and countries as well as the chairs of the IOC's and WADA's athletes committees, Claudia Bokel and Beckie Scott, had been sent to IOC president Thomas Bach and WADA head Craig Reedie; the letter criticised the organisations for inaction and silence until the media became involved and said that athlete confidence in the anti-doping system had been "shattered".[47] On 18 July 2016, WADA's Athlete Committee stated, "Although we have known of the allegations, to read the report today, to see the weight of the evidence, and to see the scale of doping and deception is astounding."[48] The athlete committee and the leaders of national anti-doping agencies in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States called for Russia to be banned from the 2016 Olympics in Rio.[48][49]

In Russia

Some Russians have called the allegations an anti-Russian plot while others consider that Russia was "just doing what the rest of the world does".[50] Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia had "never supported any violations in sport, we have never supported it at the state level, and we will never support this"[51] and that the allegations were part of an "anti-Russia policy" by the West.[52] Aleksei Pushkov, chairman of Russia's parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said that the IAAF's decision to uphold its ban was "an act of political revenge against Russia for its independent foreign policy."[52] A member of Russia's parliament, Vadim Dengin, stated, "The entire doping scandal is a pure falsification, invented to discredit and humiliate Russia."[53] A spokesman for Putin called Stepanova a "Judas".[54]

The Russian media has criticised the Stepanovs. Yuliya Stepanova said, "All the news stories call me a traitor and not just traitor but a traitor to the Motherland."[6] Vitaly Stepanov said, "I wasn't trying to expose Russia, I was trying to expose corrupt sports officials that are completely messing up competitions not just inside the country but globally."[7] Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that the Russian media portrayed the German documentaries as "part of a Western conspiracy with the aim of weakening the great nation that Vladimir Putin lifted from its knees."[55] Hajo Seppelt had the "impression that he and the Stepanovs were being styled as enemies of the state".[55]

The Moscow correspondent of Deutsche Welle, Juri Rescheto, wrote that the response he saw in Russia "shows that the country is living in a parallel universe" and seeks to blame others.[56] Writing for The New York Times, Andrew E. Kramer said that Russia responded to the IAAF's decision against reinstatement with "victimhood" reflecting a "culture of grievances that revolves around perceived slights and anti-Russian conspiracies taking place in the outside world, particularly in Western countries".[52]

Other controversies

See also: Meldonium

References

  1. ^ "Ban All Russian Track Athletes: World Anti-Doping Agency Panel". NBC. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  2. ^ a b Gibson, Owen (9 November 2015). "Russia accused of 'state-sponsored doping' as Wada calls for athletics ban". Guardian. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e Ruiz, Rebecca R.; Macur, Juliet; Austen, Ian (15 June 2016). "Even With Confession of Cheating, World's Doping Watchdog Did Nothing". The New York Times.
  4. ^ "Prevalence of Blood Doping in Samples Collected From Elite Track and Field Athletes". May 2011.
  5. ^ Leicester, John (12 January 2016). "IAAF knew of Russians' rampant doping years before ban: report". Associated Press. CBC Sports.
  6. ^ a b c Schwartz, Daniel (13 January 2016). "Whistleblowers Yuliya and Vitaly Stepanov describe Russia's sports doping system". CBC News.
  7. ^ a b Cherry, Gene (10 May 2016). "Whistleblower nearly aborted efforts to expose Russian doping". Reuters.
  8. ^ a b Pells, Eddie (8 May 2016). "60 Minutes: WADA received 200 emails from whistleblower about Russian doping scandal". Associated Press. CBC News.
  9. ^ Olterman, Philip (3 December 2014). "Russia accused of athletics doping cover-up on German TV". Guardian. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  10. ^ a b c "ARD-Dokumentation deckt Doping und Vertuschungsapparat in Russland auf" (in German). Westdeutscher Rundfunk. 3 December 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "Russian doping claims: 99% of athletes guilty, German TV alleges". BBC News. 4 December 2014.
  12. ^ "IAAF investigating Russian Olympic gold medallist Elena Lashmanova". the Guardian.
  13. ^ a b "Independent Commission – Report 1". World Anti-Doping Agency. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  14. ^ "Athletics doping: Wada commission recommends Russia suspension". BBC. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  15. ^ a b "IAAF provisionally suspends Russian Member Federation ARAF". iaaf.org. 13 November 2015.
  16. ^ "Russia accepts full, indefinite ban from world athletics over doping scandal". The Guardian. 26 November 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  17. ^ "Athletics doping: IAAF names team to inspect Russian reforms". BBC. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  18. ^ Faloyin, Dipo (19 November 2015). "WADA Suspends Russia's Anti-Doping Agency". Newsweek. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  19. ^ Ingle, Sean (18 November 2015). "Russian Anti-Doping Agency suspended by Wada for non-compliance". Guardian. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  20. ^ "Prosecutors: Former IAAF president Diack under investigation". Associated Press. Sports Illustrated. 4 November 2015.
  21. ^ Phillips, Mitch (7 January 2016). "Former top officials get life bans for doping blackmail". Reuters.
  22. ^ "The Independent Commission Report #2" (PDF). WADA. 14 January 2016.
  23. ^ Ellingworth, James (21 February 2016). "Nikita Kamaev, leading Russian anti-doping official, was planning on writing a book before sudden death". Associated Press. CBC News.
  24. ^ "Late Russian anti-doping agency boss was set to expose true story: report". Reuters. 21 February 2016.
  25. ^ a b "WADA dismayed by latest doping allegations in Russian athletics". WADA. 7 March 2016.
  26. ^ a b Ruiz, Rebecca R.; Schwirtz, Michael (12 May 2016). "Russian Insider Says State-Run Doping Fueled Olympic Gold". The New York Times.
  27. ^ "WADA Names Richard McLaren to Sochi Investigation Team". WADA. 19 May 2016.
  28. ^ "Doping: TV revelations cast further doubt on Russia's Olympic participation". Deutsche Welle. 6 June 2016.
  29. ^ "IAAF: Nick Davies one of three officials provisionally suspended in ethics case". BBC News. 10 June 2016.
  30. ^ Roan, Dan; Nathanson, Patrick (22 December 2015). "Athletics doping crisis: Secret plan to delay naming Russian cheats". BBC News.
  31. ^ a b "Update on the status of Russia testing" (PDF). WADA. 15 June 2016.
  32. ^ a b Pells, Eddie (16 June 2016). "Anti-doping leader has no sympathy for unhelpful Russians". Associated Press.
  33. ^ a b "'RusAF has not met reinstatement conditions' – IAAF Council Meeting, Vienna". IAAF. 17 June 2016.
  34. ^ Trevelyan, Mark; Stubbs, Jack (17 June 2016). "IAAF votes to keep Russia banned, Rio participation in balance". Reuters.
  35. ^ "Rio 2016: Russia, Kazakhstan & Belarus weightlifting teams face doping ban". BBC News. 23 June 2016.
  36. ^ "McLaren Independent Investigations Report into Sochi Allegations". WADA. 18 July 2016.
  37. ^ a b Ruiz, Rebecca R. (18 July 2016). "Russia May Face Olympics Ban as Doping Scheme Is Confirmed". The New York Times.
  38. ^ http://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/id/17100024/takeaways-mclaren-report-confusion-corruption-cynicism
  39. ^ http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/07/the-damning-mclaren-report-on-russian-olympic-doping-explained
  40. ^ "Statement of the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee on the WADA Independent Person Report". International Olympic Committee. 19 July 2016.
  41. ^ [1]. helsinkitimes.fi (19 July 2016). Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  42. ^ "Neue Doping-Vorwürfe gegen Russland und Kenia". Die Welt (in German). 1 August 2015.
  43. ^ "Doping: top secret - Russia's red herrings [english version]". Sportschau. 6 March 2016.
  44. ^ Keteyian, Armen (8 May 2016). "Russian doping at Sochi Winter Olympics exposed". 60 Minutes / CBS News.
  45. ^ Guillou, Clément (2 June 2016). "Lanceurs d'alerte olympique, plongée documentaire dans les coulisses du dopage". Le Monde (in French). {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  46. ^ Gibson, Owen (1 June 2016). "New doping report will influence decision on Russia's place at Olympics". The Guardian.
  47. ^ Ingle, Sean (14 June 2016). "Athletes 'have lost faith' in IOC and Wada over Russia failures". The Guardian.
  48. ^ a b "WADA Athlete Committee Statement on the McLaren Report". WADA Athlete Committee. 18 July 2016.
  49. ^ Brennan, Christine (20 July 2016). "Anti-doping leaders call on IOC to ban Russia immediately from Rio Olympics". USA Today.
  50. ^ MacFarquhar, Neil (21 July 2016). "A Doping Scandal Appears Unlikely to Tarnish Russia's President". The New York Times.
  51. ^ Ferguson, Kate (18 June 2016). "Vladimir Putin insists 'Russia does not support doping'". The Scotsman.
  52. ^ a b c Kramer, Andrew E. (17 June 2016). "Olympic Ban Adds to Russia's Culture of Grievances". The New York Times.
  53. ^ Nemtsova, Anna (17 June 2016). "Russia: America and the West 'Invented' Olympic Doping Scandal to 'Humiliate' Us". The Daily Beast.
  54. ^ "IAAF Taskforce: Interim report to IAAF Council, 17 June 2016" (PDF). IAAF. 17 June 2016.
  55. ^ a b Schmidt, Friedrich; Hanfeld, Michael (11 June 2016). "Stell dir vor, das russische Staatsfernsehen kommt". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  56. ^ Rescheto, Juri (9 June 2016). "Opinion: Russia's parallel universe". Deutsche Welle.
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