Massive Russian operation to cheat with doping during the Sochi Olympics
The ex head of the Russian anti doping organization has come out and described in detail the way the Russians cheated during the Sochi Olympics. Acting on government directions Russian officials were under severe pressure to demonstrate Russian dominance at the Winter Olympics.
Russian secret service and police helped design a still secret method to break into the tamper proof bottles used to collect and store samples for testing. For Russian athletes that won a medal - at night the bottles with their samples would be secreted out of the secured room through a hole in the wall, bottles broken into and samples replaced with clean urine.
This method allowed Russian athletes to dope with a three drug cocktail throughout the games.
The allegation is that this was the reason that Russia won 33 medals, 10 more that at Vancouver, and dominated the medal count.
The IOC has the final call but I think they would defer to the athletic federation to make the ruling and it looks like the Kenyan's have been cleared to participate already and I dont think anything is really brewing with the Russians.
You would think it would be a massive embarrassment for the IOC that their host nation cheated their way to winning the most medals. Russia is not Kenya. They have to do something or what is the point for clean athletes? Banning Russia would send a strong message.
I'd like to know what % of athletes at any Olympic Games are 100% clean - I am thinking 10% or less
Maybe but the Russians seem to take it to another level. Even their Under 18 hockey team got banned.
Yeah I think money has a lot to do with it. You can't just ban the biggest stars and the Olympic committee and the various athletic organizations are probably just as corrupt as the FIFA.
I can just imagine some hardened cold war trained former KGB agent breaking into the testing offices and swapping out hundreds of vials of pee thinking "this is my life now" lol.
Guess is the Russian media will be putin out lots of those tin foil hat conspiracy pieces again real soon.
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We are very sorry that athletes who tried to deceive us, and the world, were not caught sooner. We are very sorry because Russia is committed to upholding the highest standards in sport and is opposed to anything that threatens the Olympic values.
Uh huh. Sure.
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Maybe but the Russians seem to take it to another level. Even their Under 18 hockey team got banned.
Yeah I think money has a lot to do with it. You can't just ban the biggest stars and the Olympic committee and the various athletic organizations are probably just as corrupt as the FIFA.
Most other countries are trying to stop their athletes from cheating, while Russia actively helping them.
That being said, the cheating is so widespread, it may just be a moot point. Jamaica, who produces most of the world's sprinters, just started doing blood testing last year.
The issue is really the lack of stiff penalties. At most, you're looking at a temporary ban for getting caught vs the fame/fortune you get for succeeding.