Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
clear sky
weather
OMAN
25°C / 25°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Russia duped global sports

863147
863147
minus
plus

LONDON: Russia has duped international sport “on an unprecedented scale” with more than 1,000 athletes implicated in a programme of state-sponsored doping, independent investigator Richard McLaren confirmed on Friday.


“For years, international sports competitions have unknowingly been hijacked by the Russians,” McLaren told a news conference in London after the publication of his report.


McLaren said the conspiracy dated back to 2011, continued at least until 2015 and covered 30 summer and winter sports, including football.


A total of 15 medallists from the Winter Olympic Games Russia, hosted in Sochi in 2014, were implicated.


Of the more than 1,000 athletes implicated, the names of 695 of them have been passed on to sports federations.


Canadian lawyer McLaren said in his report that an “institutional conspiracy” allowed athletes competing in summer, winter and Paralympic sports to benefit from manipulations to conceal positive doping tests.


Using forensic evidence including DNA testing of samples, investigators concluded that Russian officials tampered with sample bottles, swapping samples for “protected athletes” to ensure they did not test positive.


“It’s impossible to know just how deep and how far back this conspiracy goes,” McLaren said. “Coaches and fans have been playing on an uneven field. Sports fans and spectators have been deceived. It’s time that this stops.” — dpa


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon