Athletes, officials saddened, shocked by McLaren report

Vindication brought little satisfaction. Nine months after athletes had called for further investigation into doping in Russian sport, a report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency revealed a system as widespread — maybe even more so — as those athletes anticipated.

WADA echoed the call some athletes have been making for months that Russia be barred from competing in the upcoming Rio Olympics, which open on Aug. 5.

That response came after Richard McLaren, who had been tasked by WADA in May to investigate claims of doping and cover-ups at the Sochi Olympics, released his report on Monday. It revealed a system of covering up positive doping tests that extended to some of the highest levels of Russian sport and government.

The revelations built on those of an independent commission, which was led by Dick Pound and which McLaren was a part of, that released a report in November detailing widespread doping in Russian track and field.

“I think that we felt a little bit vindicated today because we have been calling for report since last year,” said Canadian Beckie Scott, chair of the WADA athlete committee. “Nevertheless, I think today’s results for us were really shocking. We as a community were very upset to read about the unprecedented levels of doping and the subversion and undermining of Olympic values that was taking place in Russia.”

McLaren’s report showed that doping and swapping out of urine samples at the Sochi Games was the work-around in a system that protected athletes from recording positive tests. McLaren found the Ministry of Sport directed the covering up of positive tests in conjunction with the Center of Sports Preparation of the National Teams of Russia (CSP) and the Federal Security Service (FSB).

The system, which the report called Disappearing Positive Methodology, affected virtually all sports, with the report outlining cases covered up in 29 Olympic sports as well as Paralympic sports.

That system ran from 2011 until August of 2015, a period of time that includes the London and Sochi Olympics, world championships in track and field and swimming hosted by Russia, and the first eight months of the WADA independent commission investigation.

WADA’s response was the strongest among calls for Russia to be banned from the Rio Olympics and Paralympics.

The country’s track and field team was banned by the International Association of Athletics Federations last month.

“I think it’s a sad day for sport, but it’s a really important report and ...  we need to see concrete sanctions and results coming out of a report like this,” said Ben Sanford, who is on the WADA athlete committee. “It can’t just sort of disappear into the system. There has to be consequences now.”

Those should include denying Russian government officials access to international competitions, WADA said in its release.

“The McLaren Report makes it ever more clear that such culture change needs to be cascaded from the very top in order to deliver the necessary reform that clean sport needs,” said Olivier Niggli, director general of WADA.

While calls for a ban of Russia dominated, others voiced concern about a blanket punishment.

In a statement released Monday before the McLaren report, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said clean Russian gymnasts should be allowed to compete in the Games.

The sport was not among those listed in the report to have had positive tests covered up.

"The rights of every individual athlete must be respected,” said FIG president Bruno Grandi. “The right to participate at the Games cannot be stolen from an athlete, who has duly qualified and has not be found guilty of doping. Blanket bans have never been and will never be just."

While not their first choice, an exemption to a ban that might allow clean Russian athletes to compete was something athletes would be willing to support.

Already, the IAAF has created such an exemption to its ban of Russia. Its doping review board will consider cases for exceptional eligibility if athletes can show they have been subject to effective anti-doping controls and not tainted by the Russian system.

The IAAF has granted that status to two athletes — whistleblower Yuliya Stepanova, who provided a bulk of evidence used in the independent commission report, and Darya Klishina, who trains in Florida.

WADA said it is working to establish non-binding guidelines to help the IOC, International Paralympic Committee and international federations make decisions about exemptions to collective sanctions.

“I think it’s pretty clear that the Russians have to be banned from Rio, it seems now on both the Olympic and Paralympic side from Richard McLaren’s report. There clearly has to be consequences to this sort of egregious misconduct,” said Joseph de Pencier, founding CEO of the Institute of National Anti-Doping Organizations.

Whatever decisions the IOC might make — and its executive board is slated to convene for a teleconference on Tuesday — it must do so in a short window. McLaren had only 57 days to conduct his investigation, the results of which he released 18 days before the start of the Olympics.

He indicated his findings were only a sliver of the information he had collected but said the investigation needed to be completed in order to leave time for decisions to be made.

“So many more pressures come to bear when you’re this close to the Games,” said Sarah Konrad, chair of the U.S. Olympic committee’s athlete advisory council. “Even if the IOC makes that decision and bans the entire Russian Federation from the Games, anytime you do something like that you still have to give rights to appeal and have time for those processes. It’s kind of ridiculous at this point. We have so little time left, and knowing months and months ago that time barrier was there, yes, I think it was irresponsible.”

On Monday, athletes got the information they’ve long suspected investigators would find on Russian doping. Sometime soon, they’ll get more on whether the IOC will do what many have been calling for in response.

“As difficult as it is, by not enacting the recommendation from WADA (to ban Russia), they risk, we risk very much reducing the credibility of the movement, of the organization and of Olympic sport,” said Adam Pengilly, who is on the WADA and IOC athlete committees.

“Regarding the will, I don’t know at this stage. I hope that they have a strong will for clean sport and not to play politics.”