Russia is run by a man who was born, bred and shaped by the Cold War.
Vladimir Putin, Russian president and former Soviet Union KGB member, still believes that the Olympic Games are an avenue to supersize Russia’s stature in the world. To Russia, Olympic gold medals are proof of a superior economic and social system.
Give it up, already.
Friday, the International Association of Athletics Federations, which oversees track and field, banned Russia’s track and field athletes from the Rio Olympics that begin Aug. 5. The expulsion, unprecedented in scope, comes after months of reports of doping by Russian athletes going back to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
EDITORIAL
Russia is appealing to the International Olympic Committee to have its track and field athletes reinstated. Typically, the IOC defers to rulings made by sports’ governing bodies. It should stay the course here and uphold the ban by the IAAF.
In recent months, it was reported that Russia’s Federal Security Service used intimidation tactics to keep drug testers from testing athletes. Athletes dodged tests with help from Russian officials. A Russian director in charge of a laboratory for drug testing told the New York Times he provided athletes with drug cocktails in 2014. Last fall the World Anti-Doping Agency released a 323-page report detailing widespread doping by Russian athletes, their coaches and doctors. The IAAF then suspended Russia from world track meets.
The U.S. has seen its share of doping scandals (Remember Lance Armstrong?) But we’re talking about widespread systematic doping schemes at the highest level in Russia.
Welcome to the free world, President Putin. It’s time you play by the rules.
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