A doping cover-up dubbed the "total protection project" shielded Russian medal winners at the 2012 London Olympics, allowing them to compete when they should have been banned, according to emails seized by French prosecutors. The emails published by French newspaper Le Monde and German broadcaster ARD suggest "the scale of suspected wrongdoing" involving Russian track and field and officials who were then at the Int'l Association of Athletics Federation "may have been broader than previously thought." In a July '14 message, which ARD published on its website, former Russian athletics federation Head Valentin Balakhnichev wrote of "cynical and cruel blackmail" by IAAF officials and threatened to expose them. The email said, "We will not remain silent. It was not us who started this game. It was the IAAF project and the IAAF shall be the key victim of future scandal" (AP, 11/25).
Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority CEO Ben McDevitt said that controversial sports scientist Stephen Dank "should not be allowed near any athlete" after the Australian Football League appeals board dismissed his case. Dank "failed to turn up for his hearing last week as he attempted to overturn his lifetime ban imposed over the Essendon supplements saga." The appeals board on Monday dismissed his appeal, granting an application by the AFL and ASADA to "have the case thrown out." Dank cited a family medical emergency for his absence from his hearing but "failed to provide documents supporting his claim by last Friday’s deadline." McDevitt said, "This has been a total waste of time and money. Mr. Dank’s life-long ban from involvement in sport is entirely appropriate. This man should not be allowed near any athlete, anywhere in the world, ever" (AAP, 11/28).
The Kenya Rugby Union said that the country's striking sevens players "agreed to resume training on Monday after a deal was reached to pay them their outstanding bonuses" for the '15-16 season. The bonus dispute had "threatened Kenya's participation in the opening leg of the HSBC World Series in Dubai this weekend." The players had "demanded match-by-match bonuses" totaling about 20M shillings ($200,000) before they resume training. A deal brokered by the Kenyan sports ministry will see the government pay them 13M shillings ($127,620), while the national federation "will foot the rest of the bill" (AFP, 11/28).
South Korea has pledged its sustained support to Cambodia as the country "expands its medal ambitions" beyond Asian Games gold medalist and Rio Olympics qualifier Sorn Seavmey. Cambodia National Olympic Committee President Thong Khon "discussed in depth several key areas where South Korea’s taekwondo expertise could help in the nurturing of the Kingdom’s emerging talent" (PHNOMPENH POST, 11/28).
