Reluctant Suspension Disheartening for Clean Athletes

February 28, 2018

The 2018 Winter Olympic Games have just wrapped up and Canadians have a lot to celebrate. Still the shadow of doping lingers as the IOC prepares to reinstate the Russian Olympic Committee’s (ROC) status of good standing within the Olympic family. Fortunately, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is sticking to their position with respect to Russia and their compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code – the WADA Roadmap must be complied with for the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) to be Code compliant. The IOC did deny the Russians the chance to walk under the Russian flag in the closing ceremony in PyeongChang, but now, despite not complying with the WADA Roadmap, the IOC is poised to reinstate the ROC in the coming days. The Institute of National Anti-Doping Organzations (iNADO) has issued a statement acknowledging the decision of the IOC to maintain the suspension of the ROC for the closing ceremony, but questions whether the IOC will make decisions in the best interest of the clean athletes.    

“In this instance, the IOC has missed a great opportunity to support clean athletes by failing to take clear action to enforce the IOC’s ‘zero tolerance for doping’ policy, to which they often refer,” says Paul Melia, CCES president and CEO.