Russia has "denied claims by the former head of its anti-doping laboratory that it ran an elaborate scheme to supply athletes with performance-enhancing drugs during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi," according to Max Seddon of the FINANCIAL TIMES. The claims, made by Grigory Rodchenkov, "ensnare dozens of Russian athletes, including at least 15 who won Medals, as well as Russia’s sports ministry and, possibly, its intelligence services in an apparently state-sponsored scheme to ensure their dominance at the Games." Russia President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Rodchenkov's claims were the "slander of a turncoat." Peskov: "I wouldn't trust these baseless accusations." Rodchenkov’s tale is "dripping with cloak-and-dagger intrigue worthy of a John le Carré spy novel." Before the Olympics, Rodchenkov said that Russia’s sports ministry "gave him a spreadsheet with the names of athletes participating in the doping programme, instructing him to doctor the test results" of any who won medals. Once competition began, Rodchenkov "led a team that worked in the dead of night to switch the athletes' tainted urine with clean samples collected months earlier." Putin awarded Rodchenkov an Order of Merit after the Olympics "but his fortunes shifted drastically last year after the World Anti-Doping Agency detailed widespread doping among Russian track and field athletes." Rodchenkov resigned from his position and moved to L.A., "claiming to fear for his life." The new claims "have prompted a new WADA investigation." The investigation could "lead to further sanctions" from the Int'l Olympic Committee (FT, 5/13). The BELFAST TELEGRAPH reported two Olympic Gold Medalists from Russia "have denied doping after they were named in a newspaper report detailing state-sponsored cheating at the 2014 Sochi Games." Bobsled champion Alexander Zubkov and cross-country skier Alexander Legkov "were among the athletes accused" of doping in an article by the former head of the Russian national drug-testing laboratory. Zubkov said, "What's written now in this article is baseless libel." He added that he "regularly gave doping samples in his career." Zubkov: "I'm a person who has worked for many years in sport, competed at the Olympics, and I know how much responsibility each athlete bears when they compete at such a high level." Legkov defended his "honest medals" and said that Rodchenkov, who resigned as lab director last year following separate allegations that he covered up doping in track and field, "was not a credible source." Legkov said, "I don't understand why a person like this should be believed, trusted or anything else" (BELFAST TELEGRAPH, 5/13).
SO SORRY: The BBC reported Russia Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said that his country is "very sorry" and "ashamed" of cheating athletes who were not caught by its anti-doping systems. Russia was "banned from international competition after a damning report" by WADA. But Mutko argued not lifting the ban for the 2016 Rio Olympics would be "unfair and disproportionate" and that clean athletes should not be punished. He wrote that "they will have been rigorously tested in Rio." He wrote, "We do not deny having a problem in Russia, and we are doing everything possible at state level to eradicate doping, including punishing athletes and coaches found to have violated anti-doping rules. But doping is a global problem, not just a Russian problem." Mutko said that by the time Rio gets under way in August, "Russian athletes hoping to compete will have been through a minimum of three anti-doping controls by the sport's world governing body -- the IAAF -- in addition to in-competition testing" (BBC, 5/15).
A 'REAL SCREW-UP': REUTERS' Lowe & Stubbs reported if Russian athletes do not fly to Rio, Putin's "displeasure is likely to fall" on Mutko. The minister has "suffered mishaps before." Government auditors "queried how he was able to spend" C$4,800 ($3,716) on hotel breakfasts during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He said he had been "assigned the hotel by organizers, and so had no control over the cost." Mutko has "survived previous crises, helped by a disarming personality and the fact that Russia's international sporting performances have improved dramatically on his watch." A source close to Mutko said, "The doping scandal has damaged Mutko's relationship with the president. That was a real screw-up" (REUTERS, 5/13).
