Anti-doping leaders call for transparency in process to clear Russians for Olympics

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Sports Pulse: USA TODAY Sports reporter Rachel Axon breaks down the IOC's decision to ban Russia from the Winter Olympics. USA TODAY Sports

A group of anti-doping leaders who called on the International Olympic Committee to ban Russia from the Pyeongchang Olympics is now calling for transparency in how Russian athletes will qualify to compete as neutral athletes.

The IOC on Dec. 5 suspended the Russian Olympic Committee while leaving a path for individuals to compete as “Olympic Athletes from Russia.” Which athletes qualify for that designation will be determined by a four-person panel chaired by Valerie Fourneyron, chair of the newly created Independent Testing Authority.

With slightly more than three weeks until the Pyeongchang Games open on Feb. 9, the IOC has not released the criteria by which the panel will determine which athletes are eligible to compete as OAR under the Olympic flag.

In a statement released following their meeting in Germany on Wednesday, leaders from 19 National Anti-Doping Organizations said, “The NADO leaders hope that the decisions of the panel will reflect the severity of the situation that sport is in and uphold the rights of clean athletes. But, independent from the outcome, the failure to announce these criteria and reach a decision more promptly is a missed opportunity and has undermined the rights of clean athletes.”

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The same group of NADOs in September called upon the IOC to ban Russia for running a system of doping while creating a path for individuals to compete as neutral athletes, a decision the IOC essentially took.

In a statement released earlier Wednesday, an IOC spokesperson said, “In its decision, the IOC  (executive board) deliberately did not limit this panel to a list of criteria to determine the invitation list. The IOC entrusted this group to use all the available intelligence gathering, medical and scientific elements and the Pre-Games testing data. As a result, the panel is conducting an in depth individual review of each case and is empowered to use its full discretion. The IOC has full confidence in these internationally recognized experts and their procedure.”

The NADO group – which includes the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, as well as NADOs from Canada, Germany, Japan, Norway and the United Kingdom – suggested a summary of objective criteria to apply to Russian athletes seeking OAR status.

They included: a minimum of 12 months of testing in a world anti-doping code compliant program; minimum levels of out-of-competition testing; no links to a prohibited coach or to the McLaren report or other forensic evidence.

The latter includes electronic data from the Moscow lab, which was obtained by the World Anti-Doping Agency. WADA analyzed the information for indications of the cover-up of positive tests and shared that information with international federations governing each sport.

In a letter to WADA director general Olivier Niggli, the NADO leaders wrote, “We believe this high burden of proof must be individually met by each applicant athlete using objective and neutral criteria in a transparent fashion, in order to provide assurance that the rights of clean athletes have been fully protected.”

In 2016, Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren led an investigation commissioned by  WADA which found a system of doping in Russia that worked to not only dope athletes but to cover up their positive tests. The cover-ups extended for years but most notably included the 2014 Sochi Olympics, where Grigory Rodchenkov swapped out urine samples through a hole in the wall in the Sochi lab with the help of the Federal Security Service (FSB), which opened the bottles.

Rodchenkov, the former Moscow lab director, provided much of the evidence detailing the system in the McLaren report and in IOC investigations led by Denis Oswald and Samuel Schmid. McLaren and both IOC commissions corroborated his evidence, with the Oswald Commission calling him a “truthful witness.”

The Oswald Commission sanctioned 43 Russian athletes from Sochi. That led to a loss of 13 medals as well as lifetime bans for all.

Next week, the Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear appeals of those decisions from 42 athletes in Geneva. Rodchenkov and McLaren will testify via teleconference or video conference.

The CAS expects to rule by the end of the month.

The IOC’s decision regarding “Olympic Athletes from Russia” calls for them to wear a uniform with that designation and stand under the Olympic flag in ceremonies. The Olympic anthem would play during those ceremonies.