Lawyer 'frustrated' at response to doping report

pulse

April 26, 2017 3:53 PM

The Canadian lawyer last year blew wide open the extent of doping across multiple Olympic sports in Russia.

Russian athletes were banned from the 2016 Olympic Games after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) found evidence of state-sponsored doping in the country

The "frustrated" author of a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report that laid bare state-sponsored doping across Russian sport hit out Wednesday at the response of WADA and the IOC to his explosive findings.

Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren last year blew wide open the extent of doping across multiple Olympic sports in Russia and accused the sports ministry in Moscow of taking part in the subterfuge -- a charge denied by the Russian government.

"I resisted publicly commenting on how the international sport community should be responding to my findings. I am however becoming increasingly frustrated with what has happened to date," he told a sports committee meeting at the German parliament in Berlin.

"My hope is that today's meeting is the first step towards increasing collaboration and a common action plan."

The second part of McLaren's report for WADA was released in December last year and he said that since then he had been "disheartened with the lack of common purpose on behalf of the IOC and WADA and action from the international sports community.

"I wonder sometimes if there is a will to reform."

Russia's athletics team was barred from last summer's Rio Olympics and remains banned.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is retesting hundreds of stored samples from the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics using improved techniques to root out the drug cheats.

pulse

Enhance Your Pulse News Experience!

Get rewards worth up to $20 when selected to participate in our exclusive focus group. Your input will help us to make informed decisions that align with your needs and preferences.

I've got feedback!