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Russia deemed guilty of Sochi doping cover-ups

Richard McLaren said he is "unwaveringly confident" in a report which looked into allegations of state-sponsored doping at Sochi 2014.

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An independent commission set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has concluded that the Russian Ministry of Sport "controlled and oversaw" state-dictated doping cover-ups for athletes at the Sochi Winter Olympics.

WADA announced in May that it would investigate doping allegations levelled at unnamed Russian athletes in relation to the 2014 Sochi Games.

That came in response to allegations made by Vitaly Stepanov, who blew the whistle on track and field athletes before Russia was banned from international competition by the IAAF last year.

There have been calls for a blanket ban for Russian athletes at the Olympic Games in Rio next month should Russia be found guilty of wrongdoing in the investigation into Sochi 2014.

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Richard McLaren, appointed by WADA to lead the independent commission, revealed at a media conference in Toronto on Monday that Russia had a system in place to cover up positive tests in "many sports".

McLaren said it was not within his remit to make recommendations over what consequences Russia should face, amid calls for a complete ban for the European nation at the Rio Games.

A summary of the key findings in the report revealed: "The Moscow Laboratory operated, for the protection of doped Russian athletes, within a State-dictated failsafe system, described in the report as the Disappearing Positive Methodology.

"The Sochi Laboratory operated a unique sample swapping methodology to enable doped Russian athletes to compete at the Games.

"The Ministry of Sport directed, controlled and oversaw the manipulation of athlete's analytical results or sample swapping, with the active participation and assistance of the FSB [Russian Federal Security Service], CSP [Centre of Sports Preparation of National Teams of Russia], and both Moscow and Sochi Laboratories."

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A conversation between Stepanov and Doctor Grigory Rodchenkov was aired during American CBS newsmagazin's  60 Minutes program, with the latter claiming numerous Russian athletes were doped at Sochi.

McLaren said he is content that Rodchenkov, former director of the Moscow Laboratory, proved to be a reliable witness.

He said: He is a central person in this investigation, but not the only person in this investigation.

"What gave me confidence in what he was saying to me was the forensic and analytical work - it corroborates exactly what he was saying to me.

"I'm confident that within the context of my mandate he was telling me the truth. I recognise there are other aspects of his life that are perhaps not appropriate, but I didn't need to get into that. I need to determine whether he's truthful in respect of what I'm dealing with.

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"That's why I can say beyond a reasonable doubt, he was a truthful witness."

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