Japan Press Weekly

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2016 July 20 - 26 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

IOC decision on Russia’s doping issue will create future problems

The International Olympic Committee discussed the issue of Russia’s doping on July 24 and decided that it will allow Russian athletes to participate in next month’s Rio de Janeiro Games if they meet the conditions imposed by each of the international sports federations. This is an unduly lenient decision which will lead to trouble in the world of sports.

At a press conference following the judgment, IOC President Thomas Bach spoke of the need to balance “individual justice” and “collective punishment”.

It is certainly important to protect the right of individual athletes. However, it applies to those who have never been involved in doping.

As the International Amateur Athletic Federation did, the IOC should have forbidden Russian athletes to compete in the Olympics, except for those who can prove their innocence by passing many doping tests conducted outside Russia. It is unreasonable to permit their entry if competitors just pass a drug test immediately before the Games.

The most serious issue is that the IOC overlooked Russia’s responsibility as a state.

Russian authorities have doped many promising athletes and have even perpetrated cover-ups of such acts by replacing real specimens with fake ones in dope testing and by falsifying the test results. It is the Russian Ministry of Sports that has played a central role in the wrongdoing.

Even after these facts were laid bare, the Russian government has yet to admit to its involvement. It is hard to say that Moscow is willingly cooperating with the World Anti-Doping Agency to improve the situation.

The IOC should have shown its determined attitude of disallowing Russia’s state-sponsored illegal acts. The international body was expected to proclaim that it will do everything to eliminate doping practices which damage athletes’ health as well as the fairness of sports.

In order to ensure the fairness and future of competitive sports, it is vital for the people concerned with sports, including athletes, to raise their voices to arouse public opinion over the doping issue.