WADA Tests Russia Doping Reforms

(ATR) The prospects for Russian athletes competing at the upcoming Winter Olympics could depend on the outcome of meetings of the World Anti-Doping Agency during the next two days in Seoul, South Korea.

"This is surely important as the issue is - as almost always- Russia and the strong feelings their conduct has engendered," WADA chair Craig Reedie tells Around the Rings on the eve of the meeting.

At stake for Russia is a decision by the WADA Foundation Board on whether the country’s anti-doping agency is now compliant with international rules and standards. RUSADA has been judged non-compliant for more than a year as a result of the investigations taking place into allegations of systemic, state-sponsored manipulation and corruption in the Russian anti-doping program.

RUSADA compliance is considered a must on the path towards the Olympics in February and the Paralympics in March for the Russian team.

In 2016, WADA opposed Russian participation in the Rio Olympics and Paralympics based on the unfolding doping controversy in Russia. The IOC did not ban Russia but gave the International Federations the responsibility of certifying athletes from Russia passed doping standards of that sport.

On Wednesday, the 12 member Executive Council meets to prepare the agenda for the Thursday session of the ruling Foundation Board. Comprised of 38 members, chaired by Reedie, IOC member in Great Britain, the Foundation Board includes representation across sport, both athletes and administrators, as well as representatives from national governments.

The Wednesday meeting is closed but the Thursday meeting of the Foundation Board is open, as is customary.

Russian Olympic Committee President Alexander Zhukov and Russian sports minister Pavel Kolobkov are already in Seoul. They of course will be lobbying hard to win the favor of the WADA board. The request could be a long shot without the tacit admission from Russian authorities that the doping crisis is the result of complicity from the government.

Adding fuel to the fire under Russia is the revelation from WADA that it has recently obtained years of results from the Moscow drug testing lab that were previously unavailable. With actual test results, WADA investigators may find evidence to support its original claims or even expand the scope of the violations.

The decision by WADA on Russian compliance will be weighed as a factor by the IOC as it considers what to do next about Russia at the 2018 Olympics. The IOC Executive Board meets in early December to review the situation and make its determination on the eligibility of Russian athletes in PyeongChang.

The International Paralympic Committee has indicated that it will not permit Russian athletes to compete in the winter Paralympics in Korea next year unless RUSADA is deemed compliant. The IPC blocked Russia from competing at the Rio 2016 Paralympics for the same reason.

Circulating among international media is a compendium of quotes from international sports figures supporting the place of Russia at the Winter Games in PyeongChang. The quotes were assembled by a consultant who works with the Russian Olympic Committee.

"I have never met an Olympic competitor who wants to win through technical disqualification of clean competitors. Banning clean athletes from future games or from competing under their country’s flag serves no sporting or Olympic purpose," is how Bob Storey, past president of the International Bobsleigh Federation, is quoted.

Dutch speedskater Koen Verweij, a gold and silver medalist in Sochi, says he trained with Russian speedskaters this past summer.

"They were open and I had no suspicion about their activities. In my experience Russians are a proud group from a proud nation. It would be very hard for them to compete under a neutral flag. Perhaps the IOC could find another way of punishing Russia for the crimes of the past."

Jari Kurri, now retired from a professional hockey career that led to five Stanley Cups, says he was shocked to learn what happened with drug testing in Sochi.

"There must be another way for the IOC to punish the guilty without affecting the innocent. And besides it appears that Russia will not take part in the Ice Hockey under a neutral flag which would render the Hockey medals meaningless with no KHL or NHL participation. That just penalizes all the athletes from the other participating nations, not to mention all the problems it would cause for sponsors and broadcasters. So there must be a middle ground in all this," says Kurri, who also served a short stint as an IOC member in Finland.

Joel Bouzou, former French modern pentathlete and president of the World Olympians Association, also calls for sanctions for the guilty, sport for those who are clean.

"If evidence is established that there was a system in place, sanctions have to be applied. But it should not endanger the right of clean athletes to take part in the Games," he says.

The WADA meetings are the first ever for the organization in Korea since its founding 17 years ago. The crucial matter of Russian eligibility in the first ever Winter Olympics in South Korea in four months time is a matter of fateful coincidence.

In addition to the Russian doping situation, the WADA board is expected to take up a proposal to maintain its headquarters in Montreal. Officials from Quebec City are on hand in Korea to give their support for a 12-year extension of the WADA headquarters. Terms of the agreement are said to be favorable to WADA.

Reported by Ed Hula.