Russians brace for release of another doping report
With authorities set to release yet another report on allegations of systemic doping in Russian athletics, a top sports official from that country has asked for patience.
Sports minister Vitaly Mutko issued his plea Wednesday, about a week before the World Anti-Doping Agency is expected to publish its findings on alleged cheating at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
“We understand that our problems with doping have deep roots in the past and cannot be eradicated in a short period of time,” Mutko stated in a letter to WADA. “Cultural change takes decades and sadly, we will continue to be facing some individuals who are determined to break the rules and regulations, to secure unfair wins and to seek personal enrichment.”
This is the third WADA investigation of Russia over the past year or so. Previous findings resulted in the country’s track team being banned from the upcoming 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Reports by “60 Minutes” and the New York Times triggered the current probe which, among other things, will try to determine if officials manipulated samples at an official drug-testing lab in Sochi.
Mutko reiterated that his country has recently sought to make significant changes in its anti-doping enforcement.
This effort, he wrote, indicates “our full openness and desire to purify sport from doping and restore confidence in Russian anti-doping policy.”
As evidence of widespread cheating continues to grow, there have been calls for excluding the entire Russian contingent from Rio.
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