Russia faces calls for total ban over doping

Paris: The United States and Germany led calls for Russia to be exiled from international competition after the McLaren report said doping in sport in the country represented an “institutional conspiracy”.

More than 1,000 athletes in the summer and winter Olympics and Paralympics “can be identified as being involved in or benefiting from manipulations to conceal positive testing”, said Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren.

Drug test samples at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 were even manipulated by the addition of salt and coffee, said the report prepared for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

“It’s another staggering example of how the Olympic movement has been corrupted and clean athletes robbed by Russia’s state-supported doping system,” said Travis Tygart, the head of the US anti-doping body (USADA).

“The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has to act and clean athletes won’t be satisfied until WADA is empowered to be a truly independent global regulator and the Russian Olympic Committee is suspended until deemed code compliant.

“No international sporting events should be held in Russia until its anti-doping program is fully code compliant and all the individuals who participated in the corruption are held accountable.”

The IOC this week extended sanctions against Russia while the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) recently renewed its suspension of the country.

That had already seen the entire Russian track and field team banned from the Rio Olympics in the summer.

Clemens Prokop, the president of the German athletics federation (DLV), called for a total ban on all Russian competitors.

“Russian sport should be excluded from all international competitions, including the Olympic Games, until its credibility is restored,” said Prokop.

“This is a fundamental attack against the Olympic movement when the values of the movement are dragged through the mud by a country. Measures taken must be up to the mark. The credibility of the IOC is at stake.”

The IOC said it would re-analyse all 254 samples it has from Russian athletes at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.