The report's co-author, sports lawyer Richard McLaren, believes it shows "a different scale of corruption", even compared with the ongoing Fifa scandal, saying actual results at international athletics competitions had been changed because of cheating.
The report also:
Revealed many instances of inadequate testing and poor compliance around testing standards.
Recommended that Wada withdraw its accreditation of the Moscow laboratory as soon as possible and that its director, Grigory Rodchenko, be permanently removed from his position.
Found that a number of Russian athletes suspected of doping could have been prevented from competing at the London 2012 Olympics had it not been for "the collective and inexplicable laissez-faire policy" adopted by the IAAF and the Russian athletics federation.
Suggested that neither the Russian athletics federation (Araf) the Russian anti-doping agency (Rusada), nor the Russian Federation can be considered anti-doping code-compliant.
Confirmed allegations that some Russian doctors and/or laboratory personnel acted as enablers for systematic cheating along with athletics coaches.
Identified the intentional and malicious destruction of more than 1,400 samples by Moscow laboratory officials after receiving written notification from Wada to preserve target samples.
The commission, set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), found a "deeply rooted culture of cheating" in Russian athletics. But it also identified what it called systemic failures in the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It said in its report that the London 2012 Olympics had been "sabotaged" by the widespread inaction of international and national anti-doping authorities.
"For 2016 our recommendation is that the Russian Federation be suspended, 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 if you like," Dick Pound, president of WADA, told a news conference in Geneva.
Russia finished second behind the United States in the medal table at the 2012 Olympics, with 17 medals, eight of them gold, and has long been one of the chief players in track and field.
The scandal revolves around accusations that money was demanded from top athletes to 'bury' medical tests from Russian athletes that showed drug use to enhance performance.
It could prove as damaging to world athletics as the corruption affair now shaking soccer's world governing body FIFA, where president Sepp Blatter has been suspended and 14 officials and marketing executives indicted on corruption charges. There has never been any suggestion that FIFA corruption has affected results on the pitch, at the World Cup, for example.
In a devastatingly critical report, a World Anti-Doping Agency panel accused the Russian government on Monday of complicity in widespread doping and coverups by its track and field athletes and said they should all be banned from competition — possibly even next year's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro — until the country cleans up its act.
The report from a WADA commission that has been probing media allegations of widespread doping and deception in Russia — host of soccer's next World Cup — said even the country's intelligence service, the FSB, was involved, spying on Moscow's anti-doping lab, including during last year's Winter Games in Sochi. The commission chaired by Dick Pound recommended that WADA immediately declare the Russian federation "non-compliant" with the global anti-doping code, and that the IAAF (track and field's world governing body) suspend the federation from competition. "It's pretty disturbing," Pound said. "It's worse than we thought... It may be a residue of the old Soviet Union system," he added at a news conference in Geneva. Pound said the doping could be called state-sponsored. "They would certainly have known," he said of Russian officials.
The commission said the International Olympic Committee should not accept any entries from the Russian athletics federation until the body has been declared complaint with the code and the suspension has been lifted. Such a decision could keep Russian athletes out of next year's Olympics in Brazil. If Russia doesn't clean up, "the outcome may be that there are no Russian track and field athletes in Rio," Pound said. But he also said there may still be time for Russia to avoid that, if it starts reforming immediately. "I think they can do it, I hope they can," Pound said.
"What? What?What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
The IOC isn't going to do it. I'm sure they'll start their own 'investigation' that doesn't produce final results or actions until September at the earliest.
Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has threatened to cut all government funding for anti-doping work after a WADA commission report slammed the country's record.
The WADA report says the Russian anti-doping agency was under improper influence from Mutko's ministry, that it had given athletes advance notice of tests and that its employees "routinely" took bribes from athletes to cover up doping.
The head of the national anti-doping laboratory is accused of overseeing the destruction of 1,417 samples shortly before a WADA team visited.
Mutko told the Interfax news agency that "if we have to close this whole system, we would be happy to close it" because "we will only save money." That would mean no funding for the Russian anti-doping agency or laboratory, he added.
Mutko also said Russia was being persecuted over doping, saying "whatever we do, everything is bad."
...
The IAAF is giving the Russian athletics federation until the end of the week to respond to the damning allegations of state-supported doping before facing possible suspension.
IAAF President Sebastian Coe says he asked the Russians "to report back to us by the end of the week."
...
The IOC, meanwhile, says it trusts that Coe "will draw all the necessary conclusions and will take all the necessary measures."
...
Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, whose ministry stands accused of giving orders to cover up doping violations, says Russia's doping problem is no worse than in other countries.
Mutko tells Russia's Interfax agency that "we have the same percentage as other countries" and says Russia has been unfairly singled out.
International police body Interpol has said it will coordinate a French-led global investigation into doping allegations in athletics. Its announcement came at the same time as a team of investigators for the World Anti-Doping Agency recommended Russia be banned from athletics. Last week, French prosecutors accused the sport's governing body's ex-president of being involved. He is alleged to have taken bribes to cover up doping cases. Interpol's announcement follows Monday's publication of a report by an independent commission established by Wada investigating a number of individuals, including former officials of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the agency said in a statement. "The world police body is now working with member countries potentially linked to the inquiry, including Singapore, to seek assistance in co-ordinating a global investigative network and support the criminal investigation on the basis of the intelligence gathered by the [Wada] independent commission." According to French investigative news agency Mediapart, the people who conducted doping inquiries for Wada believe a company registered in Singapore was used to channel certain funds that were part of the corruption operation. As part of the inquiry, French police last week raided premises belonging to individuals and companies, Interpol said. The Wada report was commissioned to "determine the accuracy" of allegations made in a German TV documentary about Russian athletics last December.
"What? What?What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
Who knew that doping (or at least doing a poor job of covering up doping) might be bad for your health?
The former head of Russia's anti-doping agency Rusada has died, the organisation says. Nikita Kamaev's death comes two months after he resigned his post following a doping scandal in Russian athletics. Rusada said the cause of death was "a massive heart attack". Russia was suspended from international athletics last November. The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) accused Russian athletics of state-backed doping, corruption and extortion. "He will remain in our memories as an experienced and understanding leader, distinguished by his high professionalism," the Rusada statement said, adding that Mr Kamaev, 52, was able to create a "friendly atmosphere" in his team. His death comes just two weeks after that of Rusada founding chairman, Vyacheslav Sinev. Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said: "It's a very unexpected death. [Mr Kamaev] seemed healthy and everything was fine."
Rusada's former director general, Ramil Khabriev, told the BBC: "I think he had a massive heart attack. His wife told me that he'd been cross-country skiing outside Moscow. "He came home and felt ill and she called an ambulance. But when the ambulance came, they couldn't restart his heart. He died at his mother's country house. "I never heard him complain about his heart... but those close to him say that he got tired after physical exercise and felt unwell. "Of course the [doping] scandal affected him. He was distressed by it. He would send me links to reports on it every day. He followed what was published very closely."
Mr Sinev, who left the agency in 2010, died on 3 February. But Mr Khabriev said there was no link as Mr Sinev had been ill for a long time with heart problems and was supposed to undergo a transplant.
"What? What?What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
Anti-doping officials in Russia are being stopped from testing athletes and threatened by security services, says a World Anti-Doping Agency report. The report was published two days before athletics' governing body rules on whether Russian competitors can take part in the Rio Olympics this summer. In November, Russia's athletes were banned after a Wada report highlighted widespread failing in testing. The country's athletics chiefs had pledged to make wholesale changes.
The latest Wada findings include:
73 of 455 tests on athletes could not be collected
736 tests were declined or cancelled
23 missed tests, which the report described as a "significant amount"
52 adverse findings
The report includes examples of the lengths athletes from different sports allegedly went to both to avoid tests and fool doping control officers (DCOs). It says one athlete was seen running away from the mixed zone after an event, and another left the stadium during a race and could not be located. Wada also highlighted the case of an athlete who, it says, used a container inserted inside her "presumably containing clean urine". When she tried to use the container it leaked onto the floor and not into the collection vessel. The athlete is alleged to have tried to bribe the DCO before providing a sample that subsequently returned an adverse finding.
Other examples include:
DCOs intimidated when accessing military cities, and armed federal security agents threatening DCOs with expulsion from the country
Wada-accredited laboratories reporting sample transportation packages being opened by Russian customs, suggesting interference by officials
National championships for Olympic sports including Olympic qualifiers held in cities with restricted access due to ongoing civil conflicts resulting in service providers declining test requests. As a result, tests were not carried out at the national weightlifting and national Greco-Roman wrestling championships. In some cases, testers would not be told which city or venue an event was taking place in.
"What? What?What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
The International Association of Athletics Federations has extended the ban on international competition by Russian track and field athletes, according to the state-run TASS news agency.
The extension means the Russian athletes could be blocked from competing in the 2016 Olympics, TASS said.
The association issued a provisional ban against Russian track and field athletes from international competition in November on the heels of an explosive report by the World Anti-Doping Agency that detailed what the agency said was widespread doping in Russian athletics.
Apparently the IOC still hasn't said that Russia will actually be banned from the Olympics. A decision on that will come in a few days, and I'm sure they will come down on the side of ethical sportsmanship.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice-president John Coates said Russia's athletes should remain banned and not be allowed to take part in the Rio Games this summer. He also said Russia's anti-doping agency and athletics body were "rotten to the core". However, the IOC could still allow Russian athletes to compete at the Olympics, which begin on 5 August. IOC officials gather in Lausanne on Tuesday to discuss the matter, with some concerned a suspension would punish innocent athletes.
"What? What?What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
"The world is suffering more today from the good people who want to mind other men's business than it is from the bad people who are willing to let everybody look after their own individual affairs." - Clarence Darrow
No need to worry, I'm sure whoever did this is just looking for those missing Clinton emails.
Russian whistleblower Yuliya Stepanova has had the account that shows details of her location hacked, the World Anti-Doping Agency has confirmed. Stepanova is in hiding after helping to expose Russian state-sponsored doping. Wada, which had been alerted that its website had been hacked, found the 800m runner's account had been accessed by someone other than the athlete. "Wada is in contact with the relevant law enforcement authorities," a statement said.
Wada's Anti-Doping Administration & Management System (ADAMS) allows athletes to enter information about their whereabouts from anywhere in the world to help the agency co-ordinate testing. "Through regular security monitoring of ADAMS, the agency noted that someone, other than Ms Stepanova, had accessed her account," said the statement. "A subsequent investigation allowed the agency to determine that no other athlete accounts on ADAMS have been accessed."
Stepanova and her husband Vitaly, a former Russian anti-doping official, are currently living in a secret location following her evidence to Wada's report into Russian doping.
"What? What?What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
More than 1,000 Russian competitors across more than 30 sports were involved in an institutional conspiracy to conceal positive doping tests as Moscow 'hijacked international sport', an independent WADA report said on Friday.
The second and final part of the report for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) by Canadian sports lawyer Richard McLaren provided exhaustive evidence of an elaborate state-sponsored doping scheme operated by Russia's Sports Ministry.
It included switching and changing samples by opening "tamper-proof" bottles - using a method devised by the Russian secret service - and numerous other methods to bypass and cover up drugs tests.
"We are now able to confirm a cover-up that dates back until at least 2011 that evolved from uncontrolled chaos to an institutionalized and disciplined medal-winning conspiracy," McLaren told a news conference on Friday.
...
"We have evidence revealing that more than 500 positive results were reported as negative, including well-known and elite-level athletes and medal winners, who had their positive results automatically falsified.
"Over 1,000 athletes competing in Summer, Winter and Paralympic sport can be identified as being involved in or benefiting from manipulations to conceal positive tests."
...
The Sports Ministry said it would study the WADA report and cooperate fully with anti-doping bodies, but "denies that any government programs exists to support doping in sport".
...
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday extended provisional sanctions against Russian sport over the scandal, and an international ban on its track and field athletes remains in force pending a reform of its anti-doping program.
Yelena Isinbayeva, double Olympic pole vault champion and newly-elected head of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency supervisory board, said shortly before the report was released: "It is well known to us that many foreign athletes have a history of doping but compete at an international level with no problems.
"If we want to clean up world sport, let’s start ... we don’t need to concentrate on just one country."
...
The report included evidence of DNA mismatches, where a tampered B sample did not match the DNA of previous specimens, and of samples that contained a mixture of male and female urine.
It added that analysis of the samples from four Russians who won gold in Sochi had shown salt readings that were physiologically impossible, while there was evidence that the samples of 12 Russian Sochi medalists had been tampered with.
...
McLaren accepted that Russian authorities had taken many steps since his first report, removing several officials who had been involved in the cover-up, setting up a new anti-doping commission and proposing a "gold standard" doping control regime.
However, when asked about the comments of Svishchev and Isinbayeva, he said: "The findings are not challengeable ... my impression is that there is a certain embedded cultural aspect to what has been going on, so there probably does need to be cultural change.
"That doesn't mean change won't occur, but it might take longer than a few months or a year."
Russia accusing the researchers of being hired by the US to destabilize innocent Russia (they didn't do it, and even if they did, everyone else is just as bad, mkay?) in 3... 2... 1...
"Bryan Fogel is an American film director, producer, author and playwright. His documentary "Icarus" available now on Netflix, documents the uncovering of the Russian doping scandal."
"The world is suffering more today from the good people who want to mind other men's business than it is from the bad people who are willing to let everybody look after their own individual affairs." - Clarence Darrow
The International Olympic Committee announced on Thursday that it had penalized four Russian athletes for doping violations at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, prompting criticism from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
Four cross-country skiers were disqualified and barred from competing in future Olympics: Yuliia Ivanova; Alexey Petukhov; Evgeniya Shapovalova; and Maksim Vylegzhanin. At the Sochi Games, Vylegzhanin won three silver medals, which Olympic officials ordered Russia to return.
Though the officials who announced the disciplinary decisions were Swiss and Spanish, Putin called the decisions an American attempt to undermine Russia and affect his nation’s presidential election in March. He cited a web of “connections and dependencies” within international sports.
“The controlling stake is located in the United States, because the main companies that order and pay for television rights, the main sponsors, the main advertisement buyers and so forth are located there,” he said.
“I have very serious suspicions that this is done to create the necessary environment, to incite discontent among sports fans, athletes, that the state was allegedly involved in these violations and is responsible for them,” Putin said. “In response to our alleged interference in their elections, they want to create problems during the election of the president of Russia.”
Russia has been handed a four-year ban from all major sporting events by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).
It means the Russia flag and anthem will not be allowed at events such as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and football's 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
But athletes who can prove they are untainted by the doping scandal will be able to compete under a neutral flag.
Wada's executive committee made the unanimous decision in a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland.
It comes after Russia's Anti Doping Agency (Rusada) was declared non-compliant for manipulating laboratory data handed over to investigators in January 2019.
It had to hand over data to Wada as a condition of its controversial reinstatement in 2018 after a three-year suspension for its vast state-sponsored doping scandal.
"What? What?What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
Ohh a ban for a couple years. That'll teach'm for 70+ years of cheating.
--------------------------------------------
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake. http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
What I DON'T want to see is a repeat of the last Olympic games for which they were " banned", when they just wore shirts that read "Athletes from Russia" and then drown out the Olympic theme by singing the Russian anthem whenever it was played. What a joke that was. Russia feels like it can get away with anything, and it's time they learned otherwise.
It seems there are always some athletes competing for countries that are not their own. Is there a citizenship requirement, or do these athletes petition for dual citizenship?
Truly clean Russian athletes ought to look for sponsorship from other countries. Their achievements are then for the glory of their sponsor country, none of this nonsense "not Russia, but we're all incidentally Russians" charade.
Russia will not be able to use its name, flag and anthem at the next two Olympics or at any world championships for the next two years after a ruling Thursday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The Lausanne-based court halved the four-year ban proposed last year by the World Anti-Doping Agency in a landmark case that accused Russia of state-ordered tampering of a testing laboratory database in Moscow. The ruling also blocked Russia from bidding to host major sporting events for two years.
Russian athletes and teams will still be allowed to compete at next year’s Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, as well as world championships including the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, if they are not implicated in doping or covering up positive tests.
One win for Russia is the proposed team name at major events. The name “Russia” can be retained on uniforms if the words “Neutral Athlete” or equivalents like “Neutral Team” have equal prominence, the court said.
The Russian Olympic Committee has lost an appeal against its suspension by the International Olympic Committee.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Friday that it had dismissed the ROC's appeal against the suspension imposed in October. The IOC objected to the ROC incorporating four sports bodies representing regions of eastern Ukraine, which it calls “a breach of the Olympic Charter".
Russia was already barred by the IOC from entering athletes for the Paris Olympics under its own flag, and the suspension doesn't stop the IOC's efforts for Russians to compete as neutral athletes without national symbols.
CAS said it found the suspension issued by the IOC executive board “did not breach the principles of legality, equality, predictability or proportionality.”
