Howman Slams Russian Sports Minister Over Doping Remarks

(ATR) Pavel Kolobkov has denied any state-sponsored doping in Russia, comments condemned by WADA’s former director general.

Despite the findings of WADA investigator Richard McLaren’s two reports exposing state-directed doping, Russia’s new sports minister told the agency's annual symposium in Lausanne only that there was a doping problem which the country was addressing.

"There has never been any governmental initiative supporting illegal activities in the anti-doping sphere," said the man who replaced Vitaly Mutko a few months ago as part of WADA’s roadmap to overhaul Russia’s corruption-ravaged anti-doping system.

Kolobkov admitted to the failure of Russia’s anti-doping system and agreed with president Vladimir Putin that "we must listen to WADA demands".

But several times in his speech to the 740 participants at the conference he maintained Mutko’s defiant stance: "We emphasise… Russia doesn’t’ recognize institutional conspiracy and state-sponsored doping".

He said there was no "sufficient evidence" presented in McLaren’s reports to justify the accusation.

Led by Denis Oswald and Samuel Schmid, the IOC’s two inquiries into the Russian doping scandal based on McLaren’s dossiers will determine the government's involvement in the affair and sanctions for the athletes who participated. Kolobkov said Russia was preparing its official review of the McLaren reports and would publish soon.

Former WADA No.2 Howman said Kolobkov showed "no contrition, no acceptance, mostly challenge". He said the speech didn't fill him with optimism only "despair".

Howman hit back at the sports minister’s claim to be "ready to cooperate". Kolobkov said Russia was ready to pass any kind of external inspection" and the plan was to get "provisional compliance" with WADA’s code in May with full reinstatement in November.

"UKAD tried to undertake4,500 [tests] and they have only done half of it. The openness is really in the outcome of that," Howman said of UK Anti-Doping’s work on the intelligence-based testing.

"He’s got a job that he is fulfilling. I don’t think there is such a term as provisional compliance. You're either compliant or you are not. It’s a bit like being pregnant, you either are or you’re not."

Howman’s replacement Olivier Niggli underlined the scale of the doping problem in Russia, revealing that in 2016 2,300 test samples were collected across 32 sports but "about an equal number" of athletes were not tested due to a "lack of doping control officers on the ground".

"It shows us the importance of rebuilding a credible system. We are not yet there," Niggli said. "That is where more work is required getting RUSADA back into compliance

With the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics looming, and an IOC blanket ban for Russia still possible, Niggli said the sports minister was "very well aware that timing is of essence in this process".

Earlier, WADA president Craig Reedie updated delegates on what he described as a "turbulent" 12 months for the anti-doping agency. He said WADA and its stakeholders were working to address the "unprecedented challenges" to strengthen the organization and move towards an independent testing body that is demanded by the IOC.

"With adversity comes opportunity. I think we have come a long way in the last 12 months. We are in better shape than we were last year," he said.

But he warned Russia to deliver on their promises to revamp the nation's anti-doping culture or face the consequences.

"Whilst RUSADA has made some progress, there remains some significant work left to do. It must demonstrate it is truly autonomous and firmly independent from outside interference," Reedie said. "Let’s be clear the ball remains firmly in RUSADA’s court as it relates to compliance."

Reported in Lausanne by Mark Bisson

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