Outgoing Head Of Russian Olympic Committee Says Imposed Doping System Is Inefficient

The drugs testing system imposed on Russia following revelations of widespread doping "is inefficient and the country must be part of the decision-making process to battle the problem," outgoing Russian Olympic Committee President Alexander Zhukov said, according to Karolos Grohmann of REUTERS. Zhukov said that while doping "was a problem in Russia there was no such thing as a state-backed doping system," which the World Anti-Doping Agency said it had uncovered in the country. He added, "There is no state-supported doping program in sport in Russia and it has never existed." Zhukov said that Russia "needed a stronger presence within WADA and that the suspended anti-doping authority RUSADA had to be in charge of testing again." With RUSADA suspended, foreign testers have been put in charge of sample collection and testing in the country. However, Zhukov said that this "was ineffective, claiming the limited number of testers were unable to process enough samples" (REUTERS, 11/9).