PREPARE FOR FRIDAY -- RUSSIA (T+F) WILL BE ALLOWED INTO RIO OLYMPICS

Thanks for that article.

This is worse than I had suspected, because recent events had very much undermined their credibility, but in the past the media had always portrayed WADA as a serious organization. But now we know that it was in with the IOC, corrupted by Russia and probably others, and not even ensuring there was a strong anti-doping program in many countries. I wonder where that extra Russian payment went? Into Reedie's pocket? The IOC, IAAF, and WADA should be disbanded and new organizations put into place with entirely different procedures, funding, and leadership.

Why shouldn't they be? The US, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Jamaica are allowed.

Let's not fail to include Mad Mo, banished to a solitary existence in the French Pyrenees...

jjjjj wrote:

Thanks for that article.

This is worse than I had suspected, because recent events had very much undermined their credibility, but in the past the media had always portrayed WADA as a serious organization. But now we know that it was in with the IOC, corrupted by Russia and probably others, and not even ensuring there was a strong anti-doping program in many countries. I wonder where that extra Russian payment went? Into Reedie's pocket? The IOC, IAAF, and WADA should be disbanded and new organizations put into place with entirely different procedures, funding, and leadership.

In lieu of this article:

it is going to be interesting...what justification Coe will give for allowing Russia in -- the biggest reason probably being that his best friend received bribes from Russia.

Coe needs to step down.

as for the bs comments by others, Russia needs to be considered on its' own, as there is clear evidence of a state run, state-sponsored doping program, in multiple sports -- not to mention the Urine swapping scheme at the Sochi games.

The U.S., has no such scandal. Neither Ethiopia or Kenya (who've gotten off without out of competition testing for Decades.)

The UK, including Mo, have higher standards and penalties than just about anyone else.

If Rupp gets to go and Farah is permitted then why not Russia?

Here's what everyday non LRC peeps say....

partial clip:

Dave Atkins West Hollywood 11 hours ago

Added to the political chaos in Brazil, the Zika virus and this story, we may be seeing the last Olympics. This is ludicrous by the Olympic Committee. "I'd like to report systematic cheating by my totalitarian government!" "Okay. We'll let them know of your concerns."

Reply 118Recommend

flak catcher Where? Not high enough! 11 hours ago

And she's still alive. What guts. What integrity. We want her as an American citizen.

Reply 106Recommend

rockfanNYC NYC 10 hours ago

This is why I can't stomach the Olympics any more. Have a good summer, NBC.

Reply 68Recommend

the dogfather danville ca 11 hours ago

Tomorrow's headline today: IOC votes to make Doping an official Olympic sport.

Reply 67Recommend

BobR Wyomissing 11 hours ago

Shut the Olympics down for a few decades.

Reply 66Recommend

paul naples 11 hours ago

The Olympics are just another way for the corrupt rich become richer at the expense of citizens that pay for the venues.

Reply 65Recommend

imperato NYC 11 hours ago

Pretty clear that WADA is totally incompetent, corrupt or both. Unclear why the US is providing $2million a year in taxpayer money to these clowns.

Reply 52Recommend

george eliot annapolis, md 11 hours ago

It's not a surprise. All these "watchdog" agencies are run by politically connected hacks, whose only interest is in making a buck, and being certain that the bureaucrat underlings do nothing to stop the flow of the money.

You have the same situation with the U.N. "Peacekeepers." Most of them are ill-trained and come from third world countries that are dependent on the money provided by a few western countries and of course, the U.S. Once these "peacekeepers" are in country they start raping and stealing from the

civilian populations they are supposed to be protecting. And of course, the U.N. "watchdogs" don't know nuthin' about nuthin'.

Reply 46Recommend

Slann CA 11 hours ago

It's obvious WADA’s decision-making body is hopelessly corrupt and incompetent. They obviously strive to preserve the status quo (drug riddled as it is) by conscious inaction.

Which makes one wonder how much longer the world has to endure this conspiracy of suppression and oppression. This make the Olympics irrelevant.

Reply 44Recommend

mford ATL 11 hours ago

World Anti-Doping Agency, IOC, FIFA, etc....international sports is all organized crime, folks. Hello? Either we accept sports as they are (totally corrupted) or we tear at these institutions until they crumble and require rebuilding. I vote for option 2.

Reply 40Recommend

jiiski New Orleans 9 hours ago

This story is as disheartening and sad as the American presidential campaign, perhaps worse because it is international and drags down young people who no doubt started their Olympic quests innocently. Thank goodness for people like Jack Robertson, Yuliya Rusanova, Vitaly Stepanov, and Darya Pishchalnikova -- and I hope that brave woman is still alive and well.

Reply 37Recommend

PhilO Austin 10 hours ago

Until a cheating country is basically kicked out of the Olympics for 4 years, no one will stop this. Russia needs to be banned from Brazil 2016 / PyeongChang 2018. If not, they will never stop, nor will China and others.

Reply 37Recommend

J P NJ 10 hours ago

Sadly, it is beyond time to acknowledge the "Olympics are dirty." Perhaps it is political, perhaps it is inadequate funding/staffing or inept bureaucracy, but in no way does the WADA get the job done. And, the "job" is much bigger than the Russian program: I am personally aware of athletes from other countries who work with Russian coaches, and are told what medications to take and are regularly given injections of prohibited substances - their resulting blood work is abnormal but adjusted by "allowable" meds before competition & monitored to get within normal range. "Clean athletes" are harmed by this; proof has been offered to WADA - there is no reply. That is just an example of the bigger problem. There is - again, sadly - little incentive for an athlete to stay "clean" or inform WADA when they system affords them no result or protection. The athlete is held to a "strict liability" standard, yet it is often the athletes who have the least control - if they object, they will not be assigned to national teams, international events, etc., they cannot count on WADA to protect them if they report. They lose what they have worked their entire life for and have little recourse. It is, perhaps, not an excuse for them, but the problem and blame goes far beyond the athletes.

Reply 35Recommend

Tom N/A 10 hours ago

Why in the world is the American taxpayer supporting the World Anti Doping Agency in the first place? Let those who pay t see the games / performances or pay to advertise on them fund that effort. Does the American taxpayer fund domestic (pro / college) sports anti-doping programs?

Reply 32Recommend

Jack Belicic Santa Mira 11 hours ago

In other words, WADA is as inept and/or corrupt as most of the bureaucrats that run international sports. All you will need to know about the IOC and WADA will be reveald once they announce that Russia will of course be invited to the Rio Olympics. This outcome can be predicted with 100% certainty. You will be told that Russia is repentant and that new, fool-proof systems are now in place to catch cheaters. You have heard all of this before, and it is going to be shown to be completely false. Another generation of cheated athletes will stand on the sidelines as the cheaters/dopesters mount the podiums in Rio. Advertisers and TV channels will be assured that all is well and that the money should kept flowing into the coffers of the IOC.

Reply 32Recommend

Objective Opinion NYC 10 hours ago

One athlete with the courage to speak out and her words fell on deaf ears. ....."at the same time, Russia began giving an extra donation to WADA, with no reason earmarked on WADA’s financial statements — an unusual move. In all, in the past three years, Russia has given an extra $1.14 million on top of its annual contribution, which was of $746,000 in 2015....."

It's always about the money - the motivation to dope athletes - the IOC being remiss in disciplining. I'm really tired of hearing how everyone keeps being 'surprised' by Russia - the country prides itself on corruption.

Reply 29Recommend

Stuart Wilder Doylestown, PA 11 hours ago

I just do not care anymore. I assume that every sports contest beyond the high school level where an athlete stands to gain financially as the result of the outcome contains one or more athletes, or more accurately, performers, juiced up on some forbidden substance or using some forbidden device, like a motor in a bicycle hub or an under inflated football. All the money spent on drug testing at the Olympics and other sports would be better spent on better facilities and wider participation in things like the Special Olympics or Para Olympics, where I at least have faith, hopefully not misplaced, this nonsense does not happen. These people are adults. If they want to pill pop and inject their way into liver and heart disease by the time in their 40's, I do not care enough to stand in their way. Who ever thought we would live in a world where professional wrestling would be more honest than the Olympics?

Reply 25Recommend

IcyJuly Oakland 11 hours ago

WADA, the NCAA, FIFA, world cycling, the NFL...is there any major sporting body that isn't corrupt and dedicated solely to making as much money as possible? It's disgusting, but nothing will change until we stop watching.

Reply 25Recommend

John S. Cal 9 hours ago

I'm not eve bothering to watch the Olympics this year. If I want to watch doping, I'll just stroll to my street corner. Waste of time.

Reply 23Recommend

trudds sierra madre, CA 9 hours ago

Conflict of interest between WADA and IOC? Let's call it what it is, corruption is us.

5 star hotels, top heavy and overpaid administration, hush money by the bag full, serious crusaders sidelined, it would be quite the running joke if you didn't see the few good people involved in this story getting hurt.

I grew up loving the Olympics, maybe it is time to call it quits and let it all be professional. Could it possible get more dirty if that happened? Unless you hired the old FIFA execs anyway.

Reply 22Recommend

JayJay Los Angeles 10 hours ago

Good job. One wonders what Craig Reedie does think about when he wakes up. Clearly, it is not how to ensure the Olympics are clean. Those who say "so what" are forgetting, or choosing to ignore, the fact that the cheaters are destroying the dreams and hard work of athletes who perform without artificial enhancements. I, for one, will be watching very little of these Olympics, knowing that Russia, if it is allowed to participate, China, and who knows how many others, are cheats. Of course, Russia will say, as it always does, that this furor is a plot by the western imperialists to undermine their glorious country.

Reply 22Recommend

Michael C Chicago 11 hours ago

I'm shocked, shocked, I tell you, to hear that there is cheating, fraud and incompetence going on here. We'll watch the Opening Ceremonies, as always, marvel at the spectacle, then turn it off and go for a long walk or bike ride in the woods, thank you.

Reply 20Recommend

codger Co 6 hours ago

So my question is: why would anyone waste time watching or attending the Olympics? I used to love the games, but now that I know there is widespread doping, they mean nothing to me.

Reply 17Recommend

Michael Sander New York 8 hours ago

"Investigations have become the flavor of the month"

This sarcastic statement, coming from the head investigatory body of the Olympics, in the face of numerous credible accusations, makes the dysfunction clear. The Olympics in Rio are a sham (and I'm actually going to them). Reedie needs to resign.

What will probably happen is that Russia will remain 'suspended' by the IAAF, but the IOC will allow individual Russians to compete, possibly as 'independent' athletes.

Thus Coe will look strong, and the IOC will be seen to be doing what it can to help clean Russian athletes compete.

Not that I care, as I won't be watching any of the T&F, save perhaps the long jump, where I will be egging on Greg Rutherford, who does a darn good impression of being a clean athlete.

Actually, I might watch some of the BBC commentary just to see what kind of tame, cliched statements of condemnation Paula, Michael Johnson and Cram can throw up this time round on the subject of drug taking. "They are only cheating themselves", etc.

(And someone tell me how Russia's state-sponsored doping couldn't get the country above the UK in the 2012 medal table. I've still not worked that out.)

Kenia and ethiopia + other african nations don't even have or had tests. Ban everyone or noone

jjjjj wrote:

Thanks for that article.

This is worse than I had suspected, because recent events had very much undermined their credibility, but in the past the media had always portrayed WADA as a serious organization.

Well, the writing was on the wall for several years - as mentioned in that article several times, going back to the last millennium.

When I pointed that out here, I was accused of losing my credibility...

Oh well, why not? All coincidences, right? No evidence, right rekrunner?

jjjjj wrote:

The IOC, IAAF, and WADA should be disbanded and new organizations put into place with entirely different procedures, funding, and leadership.

Absolutely! Birds of a feather flock together...

But IAAF would rather promote an old VP to President, and then claim that this "new" leadership will change everything. Then WADA might have its previous president lead a so-called "independent" commission, which will reveal that IAAF - and thus by extension WADA - are incorruptible pioneers in the anti-doping fight. Previously esteemed scientists who said otherwise are in reality just biased "so-called experts".

Oh wait. That already happened, so all is well now. And always was.

I'm hoping to be wrong, but I think Coe Caves.

cleans wrote:

(And someone tell me how Russia's state-sponsored doping couldn't get the country above the UK in the 2012 medal table. I've still not worked that out.)

It's just the russians who are bad. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Fan-o-sports wrote:

cleans wrote:

(And someone tell me how Russia's state-sponsored doping couldn't get the country above the UK in the 2012 medal table. I've still not worked that out.)

It's just the russians who are bad. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Let's get real, the Russians handed tainted urine samples through a hole in the wall to be swapped out for clean.

Others may be dirty, but that revelation CALLS for stern freaking action.

Coe, lying to the British?

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jun/16/seb-coe-denies-iaaf-doping-allegations-vote-russia-ban-olympics

i think nearly all elite athletes take something,not just russians.yes,russia has a state sponsored doping regime(theyve had it for 50 years or more)but drugs are rife in a lot of other countries,too.at the rio olympics youll likely see drug assisted ethiopians,kenyans,moroccans,americans,brits,jamaicans,french,dutch,south africans,ukrainians,and lots lots more all going at it,so why not russians?also throw in those intersex runners like semenya,and itll be an interesting games,to say the least.

Met Pre wrote:

Fan-o-sports wrote:

It's just the russians who are bad. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Let's get real, the Russians handed tainted urine samples through a hole in the wall to be swapped out for clean.

Others may be dirty, but that revelation CALLS for stern freaking action.

True.

And yet:

(Russia's state-sponsored doping couldn't get the country above the UK in the 2012 medal table..)

Diagram of urine swapping scheme through lab walls in Sochi.

6 more hours and we'll have word.

It's going to be a big decision.

Can't imagine the pressure from Putin and his emissaries on the IAAF.

Can't imagine Coe not buckling under the pressure.

Perhaps the latest pressure on Coe will make him do the right thing.

Throw into the psychological mix for Coe the broad daylight gun and knife murder of a "pro remain" in the EU young mother of two MP...and you have a mess of a time.

Everyone around Coe dirty.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/36541301

Coe - dirty.

My prediction:

Caster Semenya and Paula Radcliffe conceive a child together. They raise that child in Russia, who then competes as a female in the 2040 Olympics and runs a 2:06 marathon.

Not out of the question wrote:

My prediction:

Caster Semenya and Paula Radcliffe conceive a child together. They raise that child in Russia, who then competes as a female in the 2040 Olympics and runs a 2:06 marathon.

What if that child runs the marathon as a male?