Russia decision not hurting games: IOC boss
The International Olympic Committee’s decision to not ban the whole Russian team hasn’t damaged the credibility of the Rio Games, IOC president Thomas Bach says.
And Bach denies his long-standing close personal ties with Russian officials influenced the outcome.
He says banning the entire Russian team from the Rio Games couldn’t be justified on legal or moral grounds.
Some five days before the opening of the Games, it remains unknown how many Russian athletes will compete in the wake of the country’s doping scandal.
Bach says the uncertainty can’t be blamed on the IOC, adding it “set a very high bar” by imposing strict criteria for international sports federations to decide which individual Russian athletes should be cleared to compete.
“I don’t think that this, in the end, will be damaging because people will realise we have to take this decision now,” Bach told reporters overnight, Australian time.
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A report by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren uncovered a state-backed doping program across many sports in Russia.
Instead of a blanket ban of all Russian athletes, the IOC set a criteria for athletes to meet including a clean doping past and sufficient testing at international events.
So far, more than 250 out of the original 387 Russian athletes named for the Rio Games have been cleared to compete.
Bach denied the McLaren report evidenced any failing of the IOC.
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“No. And this is for very obvious reasons,” he said.
“The IOC is not responsible for the timing of the McLaren report.
“The IOC is not responsible for the fact that different information was offered to WADA a couple of years ago was not followed up.
“The IOC is not responsible for the accreditation or supervision of anti-doping laboratories.
“So therefore the IOC cannot be made responsible neither for the timing nor the reasons of these events we have to face now.”
He said the McLaren report revealed “in a really shocking way” the doping system of Russia.
“If this system was applied like this, it’s an attack on everything we want to represent. It’s an attack on the Olympic Games and it’s an attack on our values,” he said.
“What we have to decide then is much more difficult, because we now have to decide what does this system mean for each and every individual.
“And how far can you go to punish an individual for the failures or manipulations of your government?”
-AAP
