Entire Russian team banned from competing in Rio Paralympics

[webfact]

Entire Russian team banned from competing in Rio Paralympics

By ROB HARRIS

 

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The entire Russia team was banned from competing in the upcoming Paralympic Games on Sunday as punishment for the country running a doping operation that polluted sports by prioritizing "medals over morals."

 

The International Paralympic Committee's blanket ban on Russia is in sharp contrast to the earlier decision by the IOC to allow individual sports to decide whether Russians could compete in the Olympics.

 

The Paralympics organization directly condemned the Russian state's involvement, while stopping short of blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin.

 

"Tragically this situation is not about athletes cheating a system, but about a state-run system that is cheating the athletes," said IPC President Philip Craven. "The doping culture that is polluting Russian sport stems from the Russian government and has now been uncovered in not one, but two independent reports commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency."

 

Russia's years of doping deception, including the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi, were exposed by WADA investigator Richard McLaren last month. It followed an earlier investigation into doping cover-ups in Russian track and field.

 

McLaren reported that Russia's state-backed doping led to samples from Paralympic athletes being made to disappear.

 

Craven said the McLaren report "marked one of the darkest days in the history of all sports" as it "questioned the integrity and credibility of sport as we know it."

 

Russia finished second in the medal standings at the 2012 London Paralympics and had 267 athlete slots for Rio in 18 sports which will only now be filled if an appeal is successful.

 

"I believe the Russian government has catastrophically failed its Para athletes," Craven said. "Their medals over morals mentality disgusts me. The complete corruption of the anti-doping system is contrary to the rules and strikes at the very heart of the spirit of Paralympic sport.

 

"It shows a blatant disregard for the health and well-being of athletes and, quite simply, has no place in Paralympic sport. Their thirst for glory at all costs has severely damaged the integrity and image of all sport."

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-08-08

[trogers]

Their dire economy needed the metals from those Olympics medals...

[Caps]

So the Paralympics Committee had more guts than the Olympics Committee, well done.

Makes me wonder if there were any backhanders given out to the Olympics Committee or was it purely lack of backbone?  

[hEaDy]

And you actually believe any of this lol. The West has it in for Russia, period!  Therefore, they'll use their Olympic committee dogs to do whatever dirty work they desire.  I'm not saying it is or it isn't true, but I don't believe any of these monkeys at face value!

BTW - remember Lance Armstrong

[daveAustin]

With the overwhelming evidence of state involvement, Russia should have been banned from the olympics, full stop! Any clean Russians could have competed as neutrals. I agree with the lack of backbone or backhander theories. What other explanation is there.

[craigt3365]

3 minutes ago, hEaDy said:

And you actually believe any of this lol. The West has it in for Russia, period!

Therefore, theyll use their olympic committee dogs to do whatever dirty work they desire.

I'm not saying it is or it isn't true, but I don't believe any of these monkeys at face value!

BTW - remember Lance Armstrong

You are aware of what's going on here, right?  State sponsored doping, involvement of the FSB, etc.  Vetted and verified.  The West doesn't have it in for Russia.  They keep putting themselves in these difficult positions.  Don't sponsor this type of BS and the problem wouldn't be here.  Easy!

[craigt3365]

1 minute ago, daveAustin said:

With the overwhelming evidence of state involvement, Russia should have been banned from the olympics, full stop! Any clean Russians could have competed as neutrals. I agree with the lack of backbone or backhander theories. What other explanation is there.

Agreed.  What's really bad is the effect on clean athletes.  The entire image of the Olympics has been ruined.  It's all about money now...

[landslide]

2 hours ago, hEaDy said:

And you actually believe any of this lol. The West has it in for Russia, period!

Therefore, theyll use their olympic committee dogs to do whatever dirty work they desire.

I'm not saying it is or it isn't true, but I don't believe any of these monkeys at face value!

BTW - remember Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong's violations were outed by the Western Media, and his reputation was ruined.  Russian media is pretty much completely State controlled, and said absolutely nothing about the suspected doping, other than the official State denials.

[Rancid]

Read into who reported the doping and what they were paid, raises some doubts. Also that the Olympics is being hosted by a BRICS country, doping is widespread and hardly limited to Russia, ask any athlete.

 

As to banning paraolympians, haven't the disabled got enough problems in life without being used as a political football? All those years of striving and for what, to be cut out by fat assed bureaucrats.

[Franky Bear]

I'd have thought the Disabled would have been full of drugs anyway?

[craigt3365]

3 minutes ago, Rancid said:

Read into who reported the doping and what they were paid, raises some doubts. Also that the Olympics is being hosted by a BRICS country, doping is widespread and hardly limited to Russia, ask any athlete.

 

As to banning paraolympians, haven't the disabled got enough problems in life without being used as a political football? All those years of striving and for what, to be cut out by fat assed bureaucrats.

The scandal was reported by ARD in Germany in 2014, verified by 2 Russian athletes.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/dec/03/russia-accused-athletics-doping-cover-up-olympics

Quote

 

After carrying out an investigation into modern doping practices before the Sochi games, Seppelt was contacted by two whistleblowers from within Russian sports: Yuliya Stepanova (nee Rusanova), a former 800m runner now banned for abnormalities in her biological passport, and her husband, Vitaliy Stepanov, a former official at the Russian anti-doping agency, Rusada.

 

In the documentary Stepanova says she was frequently encouraged by her coaches to keep “clean” urine samples in a freezer for tests during training. At the Russian athletics championships she was instructed to text the number of her urine sample to an official, after which she would be able to “sleep in peace”. One covert recording shows her coach handing her pills said to be Oxandrolone, an anabolic steroid banned by the International Olympic Committee.

 

 

Being hosted by a BRIC country means nothing.  But yes, doping is widespread.  Just not sponsored by state security agencies like the FSB (KGB).

 

The Russian athletes should have spoken up earlier.  Maybe they'd be participating today.  Russia deserves what it's getting.  Actually, they deserve a total ban.

[Old Croc]

14 minutes ago, Franky Bear said:

I'd have thought the Disabled would have been full of drugs anyway?

A fairly ignorant viewpoint.

Paras are not ill, they are disabled in that they are missing sight, limbs or have some other problem with functionality.

Ill people on medication don't go to the Olympics!

Edited August 8, 2016 by Old Croc

[NongKhaiKid]

3 hours ago, daveAustin said:

With the overwhelming evidence of state involvement, Russia should have been banned from the olympics, full stop! Any clean Russians could have competed as neutrals. I agree with the lack of backbone or backhander theories. What other explanation is there.

Backbone and balls versus lack thereof.

IPA has the former and the IOC completely lacking.

[harrry]

many disabled athletes need medical drugs.  There are severe restrictions on what can and what cannot be used.

 

as an example

 

http://www.usada.org/substances/tue/

Edited August 8, 2016 by harrry

[craigt3365]

http://www.bbc.com/sport/disability-sport/37002582

Quote

 

He added: "Tragically this situation is not about athletes cheating a system, but about a state-run system that is cheating the athletes. The doping culture that is polluting Russian sport stems from the Russian government.

"The Russian government has catastrophically failed its para-athletes. Their 'medals over morals' mentality disgusts me. The complete corruption of the anti-doping system is contrary to the rules and strikes at the very heart of the spirit of Paralympic sport.

"It shows a blatant disregard for the health and wellbeing of athletes and, quite simply, has no place in Paralympic sport. Their thirst for glory at all costs has severely damaged the integrity and image of all sport, and has certainly resulted in a devastating outcome for the Russian Paralympic Committee and Para-athletes."

 

Well put.  I can't imagine anybody siding with Russia on this one.  Sadly, some do, and just blame "The West".

[little mary sunshine]

Cheaters on wheels!!!

[spidermike007]

The entire planet knows how guilty the Russians are. No amount of PR, and no amount of deflection on the part of the Olympic committee, will ever be able to remove the egg on it's face. Someone is purchasing a new villa at this moment, with the funds that were paid by Russia. It is an absolutely sickening development, that any of the Russian athletes were allowed to compete, after these findings. Dreadful. A permanent scar, on the face of the Olympic committee. Shame on them. We all know what really happened, folks. You cannot fool us. We saw the findings. King Vlad tried, but could not fool the masses. This was a state sponsored system, that was found guilty of committing atrocities, against the world sports community, and is not being asked to pay much of a price for it, due to the severe weakness at the top of the IOC. 

 

The paralympic athletes are merely the sacrificial lambs. Kind Vlad will not lose a wink of sleep over this. His entire career is built on throwing people under the bus. 

 

Bach should be holding his head in utther shame, over this. He appears to be nearly as corrupt as Sepp Blatter was. Of course nobody will ever rise to the level of Blatter, more than likely, unless one counts Madoff. But, we are discussing sports here. A crook is a crook. Bach appears to be a crook, and Vlad found some easy pickings with him.

 

In defense of his actions, Bach was quoted as saying: "This is not about destroying structures," IOC president Thomas Bach said in reference to WADA. "This is about improving significantly a system in order to have a robust and efficient anti-doping system so that such a situation that we face now cannot happen again."

 

How is that for justifying personal enrichment?

Edited August 8, 2016 by spidermike007

[Grouse]

Tired of people in wheelchairs being pushed around!

 

(Is there a TV law against sick humour?)