FINA Releases Statement on “Premature Calls” to Ban Russia From the Olympics

Photo Courtesy: Singapore Swimming Federation

This morning FINA issued a statement expressing concerns over the calls to ban Russia from the Games, before the official release of the McLaren Report.

Yesterday the New York Times reported that antidoping officials from 10 nations and 20 athletes groups are planning to request that Russia be kept out of the Rio Olympics. Russia’s track and field athletes have already been banned, but there is now a movement to make that more widespread. Tomorrow, the McLaren Report on the alleged state run doping program is expected to be released.

FINA expressed concern that the Report was being commented on, while it was still supposed to be confidential.

Earlier this week, FINA faced criticism after Yuliya Efimova was cleared to compete in Rio despite a positive doping test earlier this year.

Read the full FINA statement below:

“FINA is concerned by the premature calls from US and Canadian Anti-doping authorities to ban Russia from Rio 2016 Olympic Games several days ahead of the publication of the independent McLaren report. The contents of this report were meant to be kept strictly confidential until publication.

FINA is also concerned that there has been a drive behind the scenes, led by the WADA Athletes Commission Chair, to get a global coalition of support from selected organisations in the Olympic Movement to support the call for the total ban on Russia. Again, all of this is based on the findings of the McLaren Report which is meant to have been independent and confidential.

Such breaches of confidentiality and the perception of a breach of independence of the report undermine its credibility. This is a very serious matter for us all.

Considering the above, FINA naturally expects the IOC to apply the principles and values shared by the Olympic Movement.”

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Chicago Scott

7 years ago

FINA, the same organization that let the East Germans create ‘super women’ with drugs and doping. FINA should not comment about anything having to do with doping, as their previous actions show they don’t give a damn.

Russia should be out. Heck, they even had to withdrawn their under 18 men’s hockey team from the World Championships, as there weren’t sure they’d pass the drug tests.

Airman48

7 years ago

I don’t don’t see any other recourse but to ban the Russian Federation from participating in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio this year. The idea of collective punishment sounds unfair to the clean Russian athletes that have not been doping and cheating but what we are looking at here is the systemic state sponsored program of doping and cheating that was directed by the Russian Ministry of Sport under Vitaly Mutko who was well aware of what was going on in order to gain an unfair advantage in international athletics thereby ROBBING and CHEATING the clean athletes of other nations of their fair chance at Olympic victory and that One Bright Shinning Moment of Glory on the Olympic podium. Perhaps a ban on Russia’s participation in the 2016 Olympic Games might cause the Russian people to start questioning to corruption that is pervasive in the Regime of Vladimir Putin.

The Global modern Olympic movement and International athletics is now at a crossroads right now. The precedents for the future must be set now. If the Governing bodies of International athletics such as the IAAF, WADA and the IOC do not sanction and punish the offending countries that have engaged in State sponsored doping and cheating AND do not root out the Financial corruption in their own midst then they will destroy the the very sports that they are charged to promote and protect.

Public skepticism and scorn for the Olympic movement and International sports including football/soccer is now at an all time high. The viewing public is rightfully disgusted and sick of this high level mess of corruption, influence peddling, politics and sports doping by nations like Russia. If the Governing authorities of these International sports and athletics do not show and demonstrate to the World Public that they are serious about cleaning up this mess then they can kiss goodby to what is left of clean and Fair International sports and athletic competition, what will be left will be a FREAK SHOW of hyper-doped up superman athletes akin to a bad science fiction movie about a dystopian future.

Hugh Ochsenschlager

7 years ago

Translation=”The cash bride we received was much larger than we expected, therefore we have no problem compromising the integrity of our sport or our personal morals”