According to the New York Times, Russian officials have admitted to widespread doping operations not only at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, but across multiple Olympic Games. The admissions came during several days of interviews with the Times. Formerly, officials had adamantly denied the existence of these operations, even in light of Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov‘s confession to facilitating the doping scheme.
In her interview with the times, Anna Antseliovich, director of Russia’s national anti-doping agency, confirmed the widespread doping. When asked about the doping issue, she said, “it was an institutional conspiracy.” While Russian officials have now admitted to widespread doping, they’ve given the red light to the accusations that doping has been state-sponsored. An admission to state-sponsored doping would mean that Russian President Vladimir Putin would also be implicated in the controversy.
Controversy reached its peak this summer with the release of the McLaren Report, which confirmed state-sponsored doping in Russia. McLaren claimed his findings had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and that the controversy was an issue in all sports disciplines. His report found that the systematic doping began in 2010.
The 2nd McLaren report, which was released earlier this month, backed up his claims and stated that the doping programs continued past Sochi. The report stipulates that over 1000 Russian athletes were involved in or benefited from “manipulations to conceal positive tests.” 10 Russian volleyball players are reported to have been named in the initial report: information that has been requested by FIVB, but not revealed publicly.
The Russian Olympic Committee has not yet made a statement.
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