IOC and WADA settle ‘differences’
LAUSANNE: With another report on Russian doping looming at the end of this week, the presidents of the IOC and World Anti-Doping Agency met on Monday to clear the air over their “perceived differences” over the handling of previous evidence of systematic cheating in Russia.
IOC President Thomas Bach and WADA head Craig Reedie said they agreed to put aside any disagreements and “move forward together” in tackling doping and protecting clean athletes.
“There was a very positive atmosphere in our meeting today, and I am very happy that any perceived misunderstandings could be clarified,” Bach said.
“We agreed to continue to work closely together to strengthen the fight against doping under the leadership of WADA.”
The two men met ahead of a three-day meeting which began yesterday, in Lausanne, of the International Olympic Committee executive board.
On Friday in London, WADA investigator Richard McLaren will release his latest findings on Russian doping, including evidence of manipulation of samples at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.
The IOC and WADA clashed over the summer after the agency recommended that Russia be banned outright from the Rio de Janeiro Games. The IOC rejected that call, instead allowing international federations to decide which Russians could compete.
Reedie, an IOC member from Britain, was re-elected last month to another three-year term as WADA president. That came after some leading Olympic officials had publicly called for a “neutral” president to take over.
McLaren’s first report, issued in July, detailed state-backed doping programmes and cover-ups in Russia across more than two dozen summer and winter Olympic sports. His latest report is expected to focus on Sochi, including allegations by the former Russian lab director that he helped dope Russian athletes before the games and swapped tainted samples for clean one through a concealed hole in the wall at the lab.
Without knowing the contents of McLaren’s report, the IOC board is expected to issue a statement setting out how it will deal with the new findings — including the possibility of stiff sanctions.
The report will be sent to two commissions that the IOC has set up to look into the allegations.
The IOC will also review the result of its retesting of stored samples from the 2012 London Olympics and 2008 Beijing Games, a programme which has produced about 100 positive cases so far. Many of the positives have involved weightlifting and athletes from former Soviet countries such Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine — which could face IOC scrutiny for possible warnings or sanctions.
The executive board will also receive reports from organisers of the Rio Games, as well as those from Pyeonchang and Tokyo. While Rio faced unprecedented political and financial pressures, Pyeonchang and Tokyo are now dealing with their own problems.
Pyeonchang is preparing for the Winter Games — just 14 months away — at a time when South Korean President Park Geunt-hye is facing possible impeachment in a political scandal centering on allegations that a longtime friend manipulated government affairs from behind the scenes.
Tokyo, meanwhile, is trying to reduce costs of the 2020 Olympics after construction costs soared to several times their original estimate.
The IOC told Tokyo organisers last week they would not accept a proposed budget of up to US$20 billion (RM89 billion) and demanded further cuts. AP