IOC Decision: Is the Road to the Olympics Open to Russian Track and Field Athletes?

Фото: Depositphotos

The verdict from the IOC summit in Russia was waited for almost without any hope, believing only that "at least" representatives of other sports could go to the 2016 Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro. Almost immediately after the Council of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) decided leave a suspension The All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) in force, in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated that they support this decision.

Even the seemingly iron-clad Elena Isinbayeva, a two-time Olympic champion and the main star of Russian athletics of the last decade, actually put an end to her career, declaring that the Russian Championships in Cheboksary would be her last start. It is noteworthy that it was on June 21, having already learned about the IOC decision, that the legendary high jumper eventually won the domestic championship with a very high result - absolutely the best in the world this season (4,90 m), and this in the complete absence of competitive practices. Russian athletes have been prohibited from competing at any competition outside the country for more than six months, and before that Isinbayeva was on maternity leave, and the tournament in Cheboksary was her first in the last 3 years.

What decided the governing body of the entire Olympic movement on the planet? The organization, led by Thomas Bach, amended the IAAF verdict regarding the status of so-called “neutral” athletes. The fact is that the International Association of Athletics Federations allowed participation in the Olympic Games only for those athletes who regularly trained outside of Russia and were tested for doping there. From the IAAF's point of view, these athletes are not part of Russia's anti-doping system, which has been rocked by one scandal after another.

In fact, only two athletes corresponded to that recommendation of the athletics federation - long jumper Daria Klishina, champion of the 2013 Universiade and former world champion among juniors, who has been training in the USA since January, as well as runner Yulia Stepanova - the same informant of the German journalist Hayo Seppelt, author doping films in Russian sports, which the IAAF decided to recommend for participation in the Olympic Games for its “contribution to the fight against doping”.

Stepanova, better known in the world of sports in her maiden name Rusanov, was disqualified in February 2013 by the VFLA X-NUMX doping commission for rejecting blood readings in the athlete's biological passport. After the release of the scandalous film, the runner and her husband Vitaly Stepanov, a former employee of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), left Russia. As reported, in the 2 year, the Stepanovs sought political asylum in Canada.

Now, according to the results of the IOC summit, as Bach said, amendments have been made to the paragraph on exceptions - it is recommended that athletes who prove their cleanliness and from which the IAAF remove the disqualification on an individual basis will be given the opportunity to speak in Rio.

As a result, there is a paradoxical situation. On the one hand, the IOC supports the IAAF’s verdict that the Russian national athletics team is suspended from the Olympics, and the organizing committee of the Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro declares that it respects this decision. On the other hand, Russian athletes are provided with a loophole, while not really explaining exactly how they can take advantage of this chance. It is reported only that the IAAF will work with the IOC to ensure that the decision regarding the athletes is “fully implemented”, and the General Secretary of the ARAF, Mikhail Butov, stated that it will “just bomb the letters” of the IAAF to find out how the individual admission to the competitions will be determined .

Another important fact is that IOC President Thomas Bach emphasized that Russian athletes who have received permission from the IAAF will be able to compete under the Russian flag. It was previously reported that they would be forced to take part in the Olympics under the IOC flag, however, as Bach explained, this is only possible in situations where a country either boycotts the Games or does not participate in them due to hostilities. But the same Isinbayeva and many other athletes said that they would refuse to compete under a flag other than the Russian one.

It turns out that the International Olympic Committee set a precedent. He “by the letter of the law” satisfied the verdict of the IAAF and at the same time, thanks to a certain volitional decision, he himself deprived this verdict of any significance. There was a rumor in the press that Bach should have a talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the summit. It is known that, against the backdrop of the Winter Olympic Games 2014 of the year in Sochi, a rather good relationship developed between Putin and Bach, Olympic champion of the year 1976 in fencing. The fact of the negotiations was not confirmed by anyone, but this event should not be completely ruled out.

The Olympic movement, it seems, is less interested than anyone else in the “loss” of Russia, which in recent years has advanced to the most important positions in sports. Games in Sochi from an organizational point of view, they were considered almost ideal, and the fact that they now also had a shadow after the revelations of the ex-head of the Moscow and temporary Sochi anti-doping laboratory, Grigory Rodchenkov, partly led to the situation when Russia represented by Putin and the IOC leadership in Bach's face was literally in the same boat. If the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which is now investigating the accusations by Rodchenkov, already in July, before the Olympics in Rio, declares that it received confirmation of large-scale violations during Sochi-2014, then the Damocles sword will hang over Bach too.

In the meantime, it turns out that “the sheep are safe and the wolves are fed.” However, it is too early to put an end to the athletics saga. “Until I come to the stadium and start performing in Rio, I probably won’t be sure that I will go to the Olympics,” Elena Isinbaeva wisely remarked after winning the Russian Championship. “Now the road to Rio is open,” says Daria Klishina, who, like Isinbayeva, became the 2016 Russian champion, is more optimistic.

And before the start of the Olympic Games, meanwhile, only 45 days remain. And now the main question: who will have time to jump into the departing train (more precisely, the plane) to Brazil with a delegation from Russia?

Read also on ForumDaily:

IOC refused to remove the Russian team from the Olympics-2016

Russian athletes are not allowed to participate in the Olympics in Rio

Not less than 15 Russian medalists in Sochi took doping

Past Rio? 14 athletes from Russia discovered doping samples from the Olympics-2008

All you need to know about the doping scandal of Russian athletes

Go to the page ForumDaily on Facebook to keep abreast of the latest news and comment material.