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Rio 2016 Olympics: Russia to have their bans lifted in doping shambles
Plans to throw scores of Russians out of the Olympics began to unravel shambolically after sports federations were ordered to lift bans already imposed on athletes cited in a damning report into state-sponsored doping in the country.
The International Olympic Committee issued a notice to governing bodies asking them urgently to reassess the suspensions of Russians under their jurisdiction following the revelation they had misinterpreted eligibility criteria laid down by its executive board.
International Federations had been told by the IOC last week to expel from Rio 2016 any Russian implicated in a World Anti-Doping Agency-funded investigation, led by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren, which found Russia guilty of swapping dirty doping samples for clean ones.
Several governing bodies did so after being provided with the names of those involved, leading to bans being imposed on around 50 Russians on top of the 67 thrown out in track and field.
But the Daily Telegraph has learnt some misinterpreted the information provided to them about precisely which athletes McLaren found to have had positive tests covered up.
The findings indicate the “disappearing positive methodology” referred to in the report had four levels of seriousness, one of which would not be enough to convict someone of being a drugs cheat.
The fact some federations failed to make this distinction further undermined the credibility of the admissions criteria laid down by the IOC following its refusal to impose a blanket ban on the rogue nation.
World Sailing announced a reversal of its decision to expel a Russian competitor, Pavel Sozykin, one of the country’s seven-strong sailing team for the Rio Games.
It said in a statement: “Based upon the new guidance provided by the IOC, it was the unanimous decision of the participating World Sailing board members to declare Mr Sozykin eligible to compete in Rio 2016.
“The IOC provided the new guidance yesterday in a circular letter to all summer International Federations. Specifically, with respect to the McLaren independent investigations report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), the IOC has indicated that an athlete should not be considered as ‘implicated’ if the McLaren list does not refer to a prohibited substance which would have given rise to an anti-doping rules violation.
“In the case of Mr Sozykin, though he was identified in the McLaren report in connection with the disappearing positive methodology, the report did not include specific information as to whether the positive test occurred in-competition or out-of-competition. Further, the substance for which he tested positive is not prohibited out-of-competition and, if the sample had been taken out-of-competition, would not have resulted in a sanction.
“The World Sailing Board of Directors also noted that Mr Sozykin has had at least two subsequent anti-doping tests with no adverse results.
“World Sailing will closely monitor the continued investigation into the allegation regarding Mr Sozykin in the McLaren Report. If it is determined that an anti-doping rule violation did in fact occur, the relevant tribunal may disqualify Mr Sozykin from any results obtained since October 2014, when the sample in question was taken.”
World Sailing’s decision must still be ratified by a three-strong panel of IOC executive board members.
The news followed a similar U-turn by the International Swimming Federation (Fina) on the participation of two of the seven Russians it had expelled.
Nikita Lobintsev and Vladimir Morozov had been banished from the Games last week upon being identified during the McLaren investigation.
More reversals were expected before Friday's opening ceremony, although the decision to expel 17 Russian rowers has already been ratified by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, while it is understood the International Cycling Union is content with the six suspensions it imposed.