WADA: Doping in Sports in Russia

[WestCoast]

Later this month the World Anti-Doping Agency will present a report on drug doping in international sports by Russia. WADA formed the independent inquiry after German broadcaster ARD aired a documentary - ''Top secret doping: How Russia makes its winners?'' (see Youtube video) - last December. It alleged systematic doping across athletics and other summer and winter Olympic sports.

In addition to the probe of Russian athletes former IAAF President Lamine Diack was put under criminal investigation last week on suspicion of corruption and money laundering. The charges were brought by French prosecutors acting on evidence provided by the WADA-appointed commission.

http://www.foxsports.com/other/story/athletics-russia-risk-severe-damage-in-wada-inquiry-report-110815
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/11/08/russia-major-wada-probe

From the SBS article:

The program implicated officials in Russia's athletics federation, anti-doping agency (RUSADA) and WADA-accredited laboratory in Moscow in acts of bribery to hush up positive doping tests, falsify tests and supply banned drugs.

ARD alleged that former Chicago Marathon winner Liliya Shobukhova paid 450,000 euros ($A686,000) to Russian officials linked to then-IAAF treasurer Valentin Balakhnichev, who threatened her with a doping ban before the London Games.

When Shobukhova was banned for two years in 2014, her husband received a 300,000 ($A457,000) refund payment linked to Balakhnichev, the program said.

McLaren suggested the allegations are more serious than FIFA bribery cases which did not affect the outcome of World Cup matches.

"Unlike FIFA where you have a bunch of old men who put a whole lot of extra money in their pockets, here you potentially have a bunch of old men who put a whole lot of extra money in their pockets - through extortion and bribes - but also caused significant changes to actual results and final standings of international athletics competitions," McLaren said.

The Moscow lab oversaw testing for the 2014 Sochi Olympics and is scheduled to lead the anti-doping program for FIFA when Russia hosts the 2018 World Cup.

Pound's panel will deliver an interim report Monday while it continues to investigate allegations of widespread blood doping from 2001 to 2012 based on a second ARD documentary in August.

[msmoby]

Russia says this is political

Lord Coe - Britain's hero from the Moscow Olympics is now President of the IAAF was vice President for a long time before that...

I always thought he was going to  be tough on corruption and cheating...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/34767962

I don't want this to be true.... Can it really be true that Russian secret police influenced test results  ?

[WestCoast]

The World Anti-Doping Agency has released its report on drug doping in sports in Russia. How bad is it? It really couldn't be much worse. There's a chance that Russian athletes may be banned from participating in the 2016 Olympics and other international athletic events.

Can you imagine what Putin will do if this happens? Russia banned from the 2016 Olympics and international athletics in general on his watch.

What did Russia and by Russia the report means both the Russian government and its sports federations, do that was so wrong? Simply put there was wide spread corruption in sport in Russia in both the government operations and the athletic federations.

For example, yhe commission, set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), found a "deeply rooted culture of cheating" in Russian athletics, which it said Russian state security services colluded with, and also identified what it called systemic failures in the global governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

What will Putin do if Russia is banned from the 2016 Olympics and international athletic events by the IAAF?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/09/us-athletics-corruption-idUSKCN0SY1NG20151109

Russia faces ban from athletics for widespread doping offences
GENEVA | By Brian Homewood

Russia could be banned from international athletics, including the 2016 Olympic Games, after an anti-doping commission report on Monday alleged widespread corruption and collusion that added up to a state-sponsored drugs culture in a sporting superpower.

The commission, set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), found a "deeply rooted culture of cheating" in Russian athletics, which it said Russian state security services colluded with, and also identified what it called systemic failures in the global governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

At one point, the commission said, the WADA-accredited anti-doping laboratory in Moscow destroyed 1,417 samples shortly before an inspection. "This was done on a Saturday morning immediately prior to the arrival in Moscow of a WADA audit team," the report said.

Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said there was no evidence for the accusations against the Russian Athletics Federation, and that the samples had been destroyed at WADA's request.

IAAF President Sebastian Coe said he was alarmed and surprised by the scale of the revelations, which come days after the IAAF's long-time president, Lamine Diack, was accused by the IAAF of concealing a Russian athlete's doping violations.

"These are dark days," said Coe, Diack's successor. He gave Russia until the end of the week to respond to the accusations, and said the IAAF Council would then discuss possible sanctions.

Dick Pound, the head of the commission that produced the report and a former president of WADA, referred to a corruption scandal now shaking soccer's governing body, FIFA.

"I hope all sports will look at their governance and their anti-doping systems because their existence may be at risk," he told a news conference. "Public opinion is going to move towards the view that all sport is corrupt."

The report said the presence of Russian security services in the Moscow anti-doping laboratory "actively imposed an atmosphere of intimidation on laboratory process and staff".

GLOBAL INVESTIGATION

The international police body Interpol said it would coordinate a global investigation into suspected corruption and doping in athletics.

Some believe the scandal could have bigger ramifications than the graft affair at FIFA, where president Sepp Blatter has been suspended, 14 officials and marketing executives have been indicted, and Switzerland is investigating the awarding of two World Cups: to Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.

The commission said in its report that the London Olympics in 2012 had in effect been "sabotaged" by the widespread inaction of national anti-doping authorities and the sport's governing body.

"For 2016, our recommendation is that the Russian Federation be suspended," Pound said. "In fact, one of our hopes is that they will volunteer that, so that they can take the remedial work in time to make sure that Russian athletes can compete under a new framework."

Russia finished second behind the United States in athletics at the 2012 Olympics, with 17 medals, eight of them gold, and has long been one of the chief players in track and field.

In one sense at least, the scandal could prove more compromising than the FIFA affair. There has never been any suggestion that FIFA corruption has affected results on the pitch, at the World Cup, for example.

"It's worse than we thought, It has the effect of factually affecting the results on the field of play and athletes, both in Russia and abroad, are suffering as a result," Pound said. "It may be a residue of the old Soviet system ... they must stop it and make a new start."

"I hope they'll say this is an opportunity to get rid of the old system, get rid of the old coaches, and change their ways. If they (Russia) do the surgery, and do the therapy, I hope they can get there (the Rio Olympics) and compete."

A decision to suspend Russia could be taken only by the IAAF.

INFLUX OF MONEY

The acting president of the Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF), Vadim Zelichenok, told Reuters by telephone: "It is only a recommendation ... But I cannot say if the IAAF will follow this."

Corruption has infected many sports. The International Olympic Committee was hit by a scandal 15 years ago, while cricket and cycling have also been tainted.

The reach of graft in global sport might in part be explained by a huge influx of sponsorship in recent decades into bodies lacking effective governance and supervisory procedures. That financial backing could now be put at risk.

"I think the credibility of sport has taken some fairly serious body blows in the last few months, with FIFA and its particular forms of corruption and now the IAAF, and these are two of the most important sports in the world," Pound said.

IAAF president Coe said he had already "urged the IAAF Council to start the process of considering sanctions against ARAF (the Russian federation)."

"This step has not been taken lightly," he added.

The report recommended lifetime bans for five athletes, four coaches and one doctor, all Russian. They included the women's 800 metres Olympic champion Mariya Savinova and the bronze medallist, Ekaterina Poistogova.

Last week, French authorities placed Lamine Diack under formal investigation on suspicion of taking over 1 million euros ($1.09 million) in 2011 to cover up positive doping tests by Russian athletes.

IAAF's Ethics Commission also accused Diack, two senior Russian athletics officials and a former director of the IAAF’s Anti-Doping Department of concealing doping violations by Russian athlete Liliya Shobukhova.

The suppression of drug test results in return for bribes would make a mockery of the huge investment by world athletics in technical measures to detect drug use and ensure fairness.

Coe told Reuters in an interview that the IAAF had tested more than 5,000 athletes since 2009: proof, he said, that the organisation was serious about making the sport clean.

[cufflinks]

Reports further show that there is a deep culture of cheating in all aspects of the Russian Olympic System with Test labs outside of Moscow deliberately altering Russian Athletes blood test results and large payments to testing officials.

Does this justify keeping them out of RIO - NO - just test EVERYONE every day before and while they compete... clean athletes get the glory and dirty athletes get the media disgrace firing squad like that arrogant p.o.s. dopist Lance Armstrong.

Of course RT will report this is a massive conspiracy by the USA to steal Medals from White European Russians and give they to Black African Americans especially in Track and Field events.

 

[WestCoast]

RT's version of the WADA report. Remember RT is the media organ of the Kremlin so this is actually the Kremlin speaking.

https://www.rt.com/news/321302-wada-russia-athletics-doping/

[yankee]

Thank God that American sportsmen do not do this.

[Wiz]

Well, we do have an entire industry exploiting every event which may be imagined as bad picture of Russia and that Terrible dictator, Vladimir Putin. It appears that is the mission on this  board of Westy. he is part of the huge indurstry whose purpose is defaming Russsia and its president!

I read somewhere that there weren’t any journalists in America anymore, just 250,000 public relations people. That is precisely the state of American journalism. It digs into nothing, at least nothing of consequence, working full time to manage the public’s perceptions of their government and its dreadful policies, from murdering innocents with drones and remaining quiet on the many American and Israeli atrocities of recent decades to manipulating fears of “terrorism” and saying little about such domestic horrors as the many hundreds of citizens shot dead by American police every single year.

[WestCoast]

Thank God that American sportsmen do not do this.

If you look at the 2 videos I posted you'll see WADA is claiming that not only were Russian athletes actively involved in drug doping but their national federation and even the Russian security services were aiding them.

In the US I doubt the FBI or CIA are actively involved in aiding US athletes in beating drug doping tests.

[WestCoast]

With regard to the WADA report on corruption and drug doping in Russia athletics it just keeps getting worse. The WADA report says "acceptance of cheating at all levels is widespread" in Russia. The report recommends that the medals won in the London 2012 Olympic Games and other international competitions be stripped from allegedly cheating Russian athletes, which could mean awarding those medals to some U.S. athletes like Alysia Montaño. Not good for Russia but wait there's more.

Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, has already launched criminal investigations based on the report, which describes Russian intelligence agency’s destroying lab results, intimidating workers at drug testing labs and working in cahoots with others to bribe anti-doping officials. Who knows what Interpol might find if they start digging around. With many police investigations the rule is 'follow the money.' In a place like Russia that could lead anywhere.

Russia/USSR have a long history of cheating at the Olympics so it isn't hard to believe that Russia is still at it. 

http://abcnews.go.com/International/us-athletes-medals-russia-hits-back-doping-claims/story?id=35092795

[Manny]

Anyone who doesn't read only American media will know fakery in sport is widespread everywhere.

They will also know that the samples "destroyed" were done so after time limits were exceeded for keeping samples, per recommendations.

They will also know that the Interpol involvement was requested by WADA - which by the way is significantly US funded - just like NATO. 

Anyone who uses Twitter will see how the US is "applauding" this story.



The timing is all just a little bit convenient. Isn't it? 

Russia begins to sort out America's funded regime-change terrorists in Syria? US has egg on its face? Oh, lookee here, something to make all new headlines..........

Exactly what I discussed here.

We see such nonsense in the Western media more than usual right now. When the editors want to keep a narrative alive, or bury some inconvenient actual news, they will publish something, anything, which allows them to use the headlines that apply to that narrative.

Often these stories are essentially made up, but they allow the use of the words and phrases the narrative dictates, and the narrative remains in the ‘news’.

The narrative is: Russia is the bad guy.

Headlines change. The narrative doesn't.

[WestCoast]

Anyone who doesn't read only American media will know fakery in sport is widespread everywhere.

They will also know that the samples "destroyed" were done so after time limits were exceeded for keeping samples, per recommendations.

They will also know that the Interpol involvement was requested by WADA - which by the way is significantly US funded - just like NATO. 

Anyone who uses Twitter will see how the US is "applauding" this story.

(Attachment Link)

The timing is all just a little bit convenient. Isn't it? 

Russia begins to sort out America's funded regime-change terrorists in Syria? US has egg on its face? Oh, lookee here, something to make all new headlines..........

Exactly what I discussed here.

We see such nonsense in the Western media more than usual right now. When the editors want to keep a narrative alive, or bury some inconvenient actual news, they will publish something, anything, which allows them to use the headlines that apply to that narrative.

Often these stories are essentially made up, but they allow the use of the words and phrases the narrative dictates, and the narrative remains in the ‘news’.

The narrative is: Russia is the bad guy.

Headlines change. The narrative doesn't.

Europe provides far more funding to WADA than the US. Europe contributes 47.5% of WADA funding. The Council of Europe provides WADA with the amounts each country is to be invoiced. The amount is based on GDP and population.

The US only contributes 14.5%.

https://www.wada-ama.org/en/who-we-are/funding/funding-by-governments

As for the IAAF (International Association of Athletic Federations) the president is a Brit and none of the 4 VPs are American. In fact the US has little representation in the IAAF. It is the IAAF that will decide Russia's fate not WADA.

http://www.iaaf.org/home

[Tom Cat]

Personally I don't believe this crap. Maybe one or two isolated incidents may have occurred.
My question is why did it take many months,even years to accuse Russia?
Testing is done the results should be known within days of any sporting event.

[WestCoast]

Personally I don't believe this crap. Maybe one or two isolated incidents may have occurred.
My question is why did it take many months,even years to accuse Russia?
Testing is done the results should be known within days of any sporting event.

Remember Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France? He took dozens, probably hundreds of drug tests over the years while he was winning multiple times at the Tour de France. He was never caught until doping technology caught up with the illegal drugs. The new tech was used to test Armstrong's drug test samples from years before and he was caught. Same thing with the WADA probe of drug doping in Russia.

Tom Cat do you remember the Olympics and international athletic events before 1990? East German women and Russian women that looked like they could bench press a tractor. They didn't get that way just doing bench presses they used illegal drugs.

[Tom Cat]

Personally I don't believe this crap. Maybe one or two isolated incidents may have occurred.
My question is why did it take many months,even years to accuse Russia?
Testing is done the results should be known within days of any sporting event.

Remember Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France? He took dozens, probably hundreds of drug tests over the years while he was winning multiple times at the Tour de France. He was never caught until doping technology caught up with the illegal drugs. The new tech was used to test Armstrong's drug test samples from years before and he was caught. Same thing with the WADA probe of drug doping in Russia.

Tom Cat do you remember the Olympics and international athletic events before 1990? East German women and Russian women that looked like they could bench press a tractor. They didn't get that way just doing bench presses they used illegal drugs.

Westy, had the Russian athletes dominated all events, compared to Armstrong, then maybe.
Can you point out Russian athletes that look like they are far superior?
Don't you think Putin would have had the Russian hockey team doping, to win gold?
After all hockey is his prized sport.
Putin embarrassed Obama, and this is just another media attack to try and black list Russia once again.

[WestCoast]

Personally I don't believe this crap. Maybe one or two isolated incidents may have occurred.
My question is why did it take many months,even years to accuse Russia?
Testing is done the results should be known within days of any sporting event.

Remember Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France? He took dozens, probably hundreds of drug tests over the years while he was winning multiple times at the Tour de France. He was never caught until doping technology caught up with the illegal drugs. The new tech was used to test Armstrong's drug test samples from years before and he was caught. Same thing with the WADA probe of drug doping in Russia.

Tom Cat do you remember the Olympics and international athletic events before 1990? East German women and Russian women that looked like they could bench press a tractor. They didn't get that way just doing bench presses they used illegal drugs.

Westy, had the Russian athletes dominated all events, compared to Armstrong, then maybe.
Can you point out Russian athletes that look like they are far superior?
Don't you think Putin would have had the Russian hockey team doping, to win gold?
After all hockey is his prized sport.

Who says the Russian hockey team wasn't/isn't using drugs?

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/feb/04/2014-winter-olympics-drug-evidence-world-anti-doping-agency-sochi
http://en.rsport.ru/hockey/20120429/173125080.html

Putin embarrassed Obama, and this is just another media attack to try and black list Russia once again.

Don't really see how Putin has embarrassed Obama? Do you really think the Russian passenger jet being bombed will be the end of Russian deaths due to Russia's involvement in the Middle East? Putin and Russia are now learning that there will be a price for Russia's involvement in Syria just like the US has learned over the years that there's a price to be paid for being the world's police force. 

In the end Putin lost far more than Obama. Putin now has trouble getting international financing for public and private companies in Russia. Putin is forced to be China's lapdog for what little China is helping Russia. Remember Chinese banks aren't helping finance Russia. China hasn't recogised Crimea.

The only way Putin has of saving face is to try and piss off Obama and the EU. How long can Putin last in Syria? Guaranteed not as long as the US. 

[Tom Cat]

Personally I don't believe this crap. Maybe one or two isolated incidents may have occurred.
My question is why did it take many months,even years to accuse Russia?
Testing is done the results should be known within days of any sporting event.

Remember Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France? He took dozens, probably hundreds of drug tests over the years while he was winning multiple times at the Tour de France. He was never caught until doping technology caught up with the illegal drugs. The new tech was used to test Armstrong's drug test samples from years before and he was caught. Same thing with the WADA probe of drug doping in Russia.

Tom Cat do you remember the Olympics and international athletic events before 1990? East German women and Russian women that looked like they could bench press a tractor. They didn't get that way just doing bench presses they used illegal drugs.

Westy, had the Russian athletes dominated all events, compared to Armstrong, then maybe.
Can you point out Russian athletes that look like they are far superior?
Don't you think Putin would have had the Russian hockey team doping, to win gold?
After all hockey is his prized sport.

Who says the Russian hockey team wasn't/isn't using drugs?

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/feb/04/2014-winter-olympics-drug-evidence-world-anti-doping-agency-sochi
http://en.rsport.ru/hockey/20120429/173125080.html

Putin embarrassed Obama, and this is just another media attack to try and black list Russia once again.

Don't really see how Putin has embarrassed Obama? Do you really think the Russian passenger jet being bombed will be the end of Russian deaths due to Russia's involvement in the Middle East? Putin and Russia are now learning that there will be a price for Russia's involvement in Syria just like the US has learned over the years that there's a price to be paid for being the world's police force. 

In the end Putin lost far more than Obama. Putin now has trouble getting international financing for public and private companies in Russia. Putin is forced to be China's lapdog for what little China is helping Russia. Remember Chinese banks aren't helping finance Russia. China hasn't recogised Crimea.

The only way Putin has of saving face is to try and piss off Obama and the EU. How long can Putin last in Syria? Guaranteed not as long as the US. 

Didn't Canada win the gold ?
If they were better than the Russians, maybe they had even better doping methods.

[Tom Cat]

Going for Dope: Canada and Drugs in Sport

http://www.cbc.ca/archives/topic/going-for-dope-canada-and-drugs-in-sport

[WestCoast]

Going for Dope: Canada and Drugs in Sport

http://www.cbc.ca/archives/topic/going-for-dope-canada-and-drugs-in-sport

Ben Johnson was a big disappointment for Canada. I still remember where I was (playing poker in Las Vegas) when I heard he lost the gold for doping.

If you read the stories you'll note neither the RCMP nor CSIS was involved in helping Canadian athletes beat the drug tests. Whereas  WADA is saying the Russia government and its security agencies were aiding Russian athletes in beating the drug tests. Major difference.

[rosco]

I knew Westy would get a semi over this! 

I want the athletes to take drugs. I mean, do you want to see someone shave a hundredth of a second off the 100m record, or do you want to see them run it in 3 seconds? I don’t want to see Dwaine Chambers running on steroids; I want to see him running with the legs of a kangaroo and the heart of a leopard. I want to see him run so fast that half-way through the race, he disappears, like the car from Back to the Future, reappears at the finish line as an old man, shouts “BEWARE CHINA”, and crumbles into   ing dust! - Frankie Boyle

[Manny]

I knew Westy would get a semi over this! 

At his age, he may need pharmaceutical assistance for that. 

[WestCoast]

I knew Westy would get a semi over this! 

I want the athletes to take drugs. I mean, do you want to see someone shave a hundredth of a second off the 100m record, or do you want to see them run it in 3 seconds? I don’t want to see Dwaine Chambers running on steroids; I want to see him running with the legs of a kangaroo and the heart of a leopard. I want to see him run so fast that half-way through the race, he disappears, like the car from Back to the Future, reappears at the finish line as an old man, shouts “BEWARE CHINA”, and crumbles into  ing dust! - Frankie Boyle

Didn't know who Frankie Boyle is so I looked him up. Idiot Brit comedian who despised by a great number of his countrymen. Sounds about right for rosco.

[Tom Cat]

Why shouldn't Russia think that? It's kinda obvious.

Russia thinks doping scandal is latest Western plot

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/11/11/russia-doping-scandal-global-post/75562024/

[WestCoast]

Why shouldn't Russia think that? It's kinda obvious.

Russia thinks doping scandal is latest Western plot

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/11/11/russia-doping-scandal-global-post/75562024/

How can Russia ever win if the CIA is so powerful that it can manipulate agencies like WADA so easily? Image what Russia will think if they're banned from the 2016 Olympics?

[andrewfi]

Win what, Westcoast?

[WestCoast]

Win what, Westcoast?

Over US foreign policy and influence.