Will Russia go to the Olympics without a flag?

The head of RUSADA, Yuri Ganus, spoke about the sanctions that could threaten Russia if WADA's suspicions of doping fraud were confirmed. In particular, Russian athletes at the next Olympics in Tokyo risk performing in neutral status.



On October 8, the Ministry of Sports sent a letter to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) explaining the case of the possible manipulation of data from a Moscow laboratory, the reliability of the base of which the international organization doubted. In particular, 31 questions arose for the Ministry of Sports and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA). The WADA expert group extracted the database back in January of this year - it was this condition that was mandatory for restoring RUSADA in rights that occurred in September 2018.

The final meeting, which will present a report on the activities of the Russian department and the future of domestic sports, will be held October 23-24 in Lausanne.

In the case of an unsatisfactory result of the investigation of Russia, as noted earlier, it may threaten removal from the nearest international sports events. Including from the Olympic Games. In anticipation of the fateful meeting, the head of RUSADA, Yuri Ganus, expressed the opinion that officials, athletes and other people associated with domestic sports "do not understand the whole situation that has developed and what Russia is waiting for in the near future." He also announced the meeting of the WADA Executive Committee, which should be held in Poland after the report of the expert group.

“When to wait for a response from WADA? Perhaps October 23-24, when the compliance committee should draw conclusions on our responses. A specific meeting of our sports authorities with international colleagues is also planned. Further, the compliance committee should make recommendations to the WADA executive committee to be held in Poland. But the first official reaction will be on October 23-24, "Sport24 quotes Ganus.

Commenting on the situation with possible fraud, which Russia is suspected of, the official also did not rule out that manipulations and illegal changes to the database of the Moscow laboratory could indeed have occurred.

“WADA has too obvious requirements that are hard to argue with. Even Jonathan Taylor said the changes to the Moscow laboratory database were made by hand. And these changes have affected not one block, but are spreading throughout the database. Everything is very serious ... And this is an objective reality that must be accepted, "

- emphasized Ganus.

In this context, the head of RUSADA hinted that Russia, even if admitted to the Olympic Games, could compete in a neutral flag. However, for Russian athletes this approach is no longer something special: at the Winter Games 2018 in Pyeongchang, the Russian Olympic team also performed in neutral status. Moreover, only those athletes who had an individual invitation were allowed to compete.

In the summer of 2020 in Tokyo, a similar situation could happen again, despite the fact that in July of this year, the head of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, officially announced that Russia would go to Japan with its national flag and anthem.

“Will Russia go to the Olympics again under a neutral flag?” I don’t even know-how. But that which is not ours, unfortunately, is almost a fact. But I can not judge in what format. Before the Pyeongchang, there was a different situation, a different regime of inconsistency. Then there were no consequences of the Code, which entered into force in April 2018, and there are quite stringent conditions, ”said Ganus.

The former Russian pole vaulter and two-time Olympic champion Elena Isinbaeva expressed their opinion on this fact, expressing the hope that no sanctions against Russia will follow.

“We must not lose our vigilance, we must prepare for any outcome. I hope that the situation that was not in 2018 in Pyeongchang, when our whole team performed under a neutral flag, does not happen. I hope that it will not be the same as in athletics, where there are only individual invitations for the Olympics. I would like everything to be resolved and our entire team would perform in Tokyo under the Russian tricolour. But I can’t predict anything, ”Sport24 quoted Isinbayeva as saying.

Recall, on September 20, 2018, RUSADA's membership in WADA was fully restored. However, two conditions were set for Russia: access to the database of the Moscow laboratory and transfer until June 30, 2019, to recheck all suspicious doping samples. May 24 this year, Pavel Kolobkov confirmed that the Russian side has fulfilled all the requirements from WADA.

However, in this situation, Yuri Ganus was sceptical. So, he noted that at the September meeting of the executive committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency, 12 members of the department voted for the restoration of RUSADA, and two more spoke out against. However, new circumstances, in his opinion, could exhaust the trust of foreign colleagues in relation to the Russians.

“Now the picture is such that even those who voted for us have reconsidered their attitude towards us. We are now acting as repeat offenders. Confidence is undermined, and seriously, and not the first time. Now it will be extremely difficult to restore it, ”said Ganus.