Drummond
12-09-2016, 01:43 PM
This was done, it seems, on an 'epic' scale.
This story has been simmering for a while, I believe. But its full extent is beginning to be understood now. Today's report ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/38261608
More than 1,000 Russians - including Olympic medallists - benefited from a state-sponsored doping programme between 2011 and 2015, a report claims.
At least 30 sports, including football, covered up samples, the report says.
"It was a cover-up that evolved from uncontrolled chaos to an institutionalised and disciplined medal-winning conspiracy," said the report's author, Richard McLaren.
Lawyer McLaren said London 2012 was "corrupted on an unprecedented scale".
The report also implicates medallists at the 2013 World Athletics Championships in Moscow, and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
According to the report, salt and coffee were used to manipulate Russian samples.
The report added the system was refined over the course of the 2012 Olympics, 2013 Worlds and Winter Olympics to protect likely Russian medal winners.
Russia won 72 medals at the London Games, 21 of which were gold, and 33 medals at Sochi, 13 of which were gold.
McLaren's second report added depth and supporting evidence to the initial findings published in July - that Russia operated a state-sponsored doping programme.
That first report was met with denials from Russia and calls for more proof from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Writing in his latest report, McLaren says: "The desire to win medals superseded their collective moral and ethical compass and Olympic values of fair play."
He said international sports competitions had been "unknowingly hijacked by the Russians" and sports fans have been "deceived" for years.
"It is time that stops," he added.
This is a 'winning is everything, regardless of how you manage it' phenomenon. It violates good sportsmanship, and shows a contempt for the whole concept of fair competition .. to say nothing for competition organisers and adherence to established rules.
Does it constitute an example of how Russia sees its presence on the world stage ? The need to see its interests win out at all costs, with nothing else mattering ? I suspect the answer is ... YES ...
This story has been simmering for a while, I believe. But its full extent is beginning to be understood now. Today's report ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/38261608
More than 1,000 Russians - including Olympic medallists - benefited from a state-sponsored doping programme between 2011 and 2015, a report claims.
At least 30 sports, including football, covered up samples, the report says.
"It was a cover-up that evolved from uncontrolled chaos to an institutionalised and disciplined medal-winning conspiracy," said the report's author, Richard McLaren.
Lawyer McLaren said London 2012 was "corrupted on an unprecedented scale".
The report also implicates medallists at the 2013 World Athletics Championships in Moscow, and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
According to the report, salt and coffee were used to manipulate Russian samples.
The report added the system was refined over the course of the 2012 Olympics, 2013 Worlds and Winter Olympics to protect likely Russian medal winners.
Russia won 72 medals at the London Games, 21 of which were gold, and 33 medals at Sochi, 13 of which were gold.
McLaren's second report added depth and supporting evidence to the initial findings published in July - that Russia operated a state-sponsored doping programme.
That first report was met with denials from Russia and calls for more proof from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Writing in his latest report, McLaren says: "The desire to win medals superseded their collective moral and ethical compass and Olympic values of fair play."
He said international sports competitions had been "unknowingly hijacked by the Russians" and sports fans have been "deceived" for years.
"It is time that stops," he added.
This is a 'winning is everything, regardless of how you manage it' phenomenon. It violates good sportsmanship, and shows a contempt for the whole concept of fair competition .. to say nothing for competition organisers and adherence to established rules.
Does it constitute an example of how Russia sees its presence on the world stage ? The need to see its interests win out at all costs, with nothing else mattering ? I suspect the answer is ... YES ...