With just 18 days to go before the start of the Olympic Games, the McLaren report on Russia’s doping problems was released. What does it mean?
How did this all start?
In 2014, Russian athlete Yuliya Stepanova and her husband, Vitaliy Stepanov, a former Russian Anti-Doping Agency, blew the whistle on widespread Russian doping in a German documentary. Then in May, the New York Times published a story on how Russian anti-doping officials and sports ministers worked together to make positive drug tests disappear. Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of a Moscow anti-doping lab, said he was directed by government agents to swap clean urine for the doped samples.
What is the McLaren report?
After the NYT story, the World Anti-Doping Association hired Toronto lawyer Richard McLaren to investigate Russia’s anti-doping program. His report was released on Monday, and it does not look good for Russian. In short, it said the Minister of Sports was closely involved with manipulating the entire anti-doping system to ensure doped athletes could compete.
How did the sports world react?
IOC president Thomas Bach said the findings of the report show “a shocking and unprecedented attack on the integrity of sports and on the Olympic Games.” The head of the U.S. Olympic Committee released a statement after the report was released.
“The McClaren Report confirms what we have stated previously: the current anti-doping system is broken and urgently requires the attention of everyone interested in protecting clean athletes. We look forward to working with the IOC, WADA and the entire Olympic family to address the flaws in the current system so that a uniform approach to anti-doping can be implemented and enforced around the world,” Scott Blackmun said.
“In the meantime, we are focused on preparing Team USA to compete at the upcoming Rio Games and will rely on the IOC, WADA and the international federations to impose sanctions that are appropriate in relation to the magnitude of these offenses, and that give clean athletes some measure of comfort that they will be competing on a level playing field in Rio.”
Yuliya Stepanova (EPA/PAUL ZINKEN)
What sports are affected?
Athletics, known as track and field in the United States, is by far considered the worst perpetrator, and the Russian athletics team has already been banned by the IAAF, the international body who administers track and field. Individual athletes have petitioned to compete under a neutral flag. Stepanova, the whistleblower who first spoke up, and Darya Klishina have both been cleared to compete, but still need IOC approval.
Beyond athletics, a total of 28 sports are affected, 21 of which are Summer Olympic sports:
This is the damning chart: pic.twitter.com/XKmNc0JwXG
— Philip Hersh (@olyphil) July 18, 2016
What does this mean for Russia competing in Rio?
That decision is up to the IOC. The McLaren report didn’t make any recommendations. At the 2012 Olympics, Russia had 436 athletes compete and won a total of 79 medals, 22 of which were gold. Russia is very powerful on the international sport scene, and losing them at this late hour could throw the administration of each sport into chaos just weeks before the Olympics are slated to start. At the same time, the McLaren report is quite damning, and keeping the Russian team in the Rio Olympics will put a permanent question mark over it.
What’s next?
The IOC executive board will have an emergency teleconference on Tuesday. The World Anti-Doping Agency has recommended a complete ban.
Has an entire country been banned from the Olympics before?
South Africa was banned from competing in the Olympics from 1964-88 because of apartheid.
Related:
Allyson Felix on the Rio Olympics, the Russian doping allegations, and loving Ben & Jerry's
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Beijing, 2008 — Michael Phelps celebrates taking first in the 100-meter butterfly. Phelps dominated the pool at the games, bringing home eight gold medals to break the previous record set by Mark Spitz in 1972. Phelps reigns as the most decorated Olympian of any nation, with 22 medals, including 18 gold.
Sydney, 2000 — Rulon Gardner waves the American flag following his gold medal win against three-time Olympic gold medalist Alexandre Kareline of Russia. Gardner pulled off a huge upset, as Karelin hadn't been defeated in 13 years of international competition.
Sydney, 2000 — The U.S. baseball team celebrates with its gold medals after defeating Cuba, which had won gold in baseball every year since the sport was introduced to the Olympics. The U.S. ended the streak with a 4-0 upset.
Atlanta, 1996 — Muhammad Ali lights the Olympic torch at the opening ceremony of the Games at Centennial Olympic Stadium. Ali was 54 at the time and suffering from Parkinson's disease. The world watched as it got to root for Ali, the former heavyweight champion who won Olympic gold in 1960, one more time.
Atlanta, 1996 —Michael Johnson celebrates after winning the 200-meter dash in a world-record time of 19.32 seconds. Johnson also won gold in the 400-meter dash with an Olympic record time of 43.49. It was the first time someone won gold in both events.
Atlanta, 1996 — Bela Karolyi holds Kerri Strug after the U.S. won the gold medal in the team competition. Strug injured her ankle on her first vault attempt, but in a memorable display of determination and toughness, the Olympian powered through and stuck the landing on her second attempt to clinch gold for her country.
Barcelona, 1992 — Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Clyde Drexler celebrate winning the gold medal for basketball. Jordan, Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing and the rest of the "Dream Team" dominated their way to the top of the podium, posting triple digits in each game and defeating teams by an average of over 40 points.
Seoul, 1988 — Greg Louganis became the only male to ever sweep both springboard and platform diving in back-to-back Olympic games after winning both events in 1984 in Los Angeles, as well. Louganis hit his head and suffered a concussion during the preliminaries in 1988, but still brought home gold in both events.
Seoul, 1988 — Florence Griffith-Joyner raises her arms as she wins the 100-meter dash. Joyner was dubbed the fastest woman in the world after winning both the 100- and 200-meter races at the Summer Games.
Los Angeles, 1984 — Carl Lewis crosses the finish line of the 100-meter dash with arms in the air. Lewis matched Jesse Owens' feat of winning the 100- and 200-meter dash, 400-meter relay and long jump while surpassing his marks in each event.
Los Angeles, 1984 — Mary-Lou Retton celebrates winning the all-around gymnastics title. Retton overcame a knee injury she suffered during the Olympic trials, which required surgery, to become the first American gymnast to win a gold medal in the sport. Retton also received perfect 10s for her performance on vault.
Munich, 1972 — Mark Spitz acknowledges the crowd after his sixth of seven victories at the Games. Spitz broke world records in each of his seven gold medal performances and set another record with the most medals won in one appearance at the games. The record stood until Michael Phelps brought home eight gold medals in 2008.
Mexico City, 1968 — Track and field athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raise their black-gloved fists while standing without shoes on the podium to silently stand for human rights as the Star Spangled Banner plays. Smith and Carlos won gold and bronze in the 200-meter dash, respectively, and the pair's willingness to stand unafraid and make a political statement before the world on such a large stage enlightened some and outraged others.
Mexico City, 1968 — Bob Beamon leaps to a new world record in the long jump. Beamon shattered the record by 21.75 inches with a jump of 29 feet, 2 1/2 inches. His record stood for 22 years.
Rome, 1960 — Avery Brundage awards the gold medal to Wilma Rudolph for her victory in the women's 100-meter dash. Wilma also won gold in the 200-meter dash and 400-meter relay to become the first American woman to accomplish such a feat. Her success as an athlete was even more impressive because she wore a leg brace when she was younger after contracting polio.
Jesse Owens competes in a preliminary heat of the 200-meter dash in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Owens brought home gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter dash, 4x100 meter relay and long jump for the U.S. Owens' victories stood against Adolf Hitler's reign over Nazi Germany and his idea of the "perfect" race.