Russia 'not fit to hold world events': Drug revelations anger Britain's star athletes

PUBLISHED: 21:39, 13 July 2013 | UPDATED: 23:42, 13 July 2013

British athletes on Saturday expressed their anger and concern over revelations by The Mail on Sunday about the extent of drug use in Russian athletics - and the involvement in the scandal of the country's main anti-doping laboratory.

The revelations last week prompted the most powerful individuals in Russian sport, including Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, to go on the offensive.

But as British competitors gathered in Birmingham to bid for places in the team going to Moscow for next month's World Championships, javelin thrower Goldie Sayers summed up their feelings when she said: 'It's difficult to believe that Russia does not have a systematic, national problem. I don't think they're fit to hold the World Championships, let alone the Winter Olympics in Sochi next year.'

On the offensive: Russia's sports minister Vitaly Mutko (left) takes part in a torch relay earlier this month with Igor Shuvalov (right)

WHAT THE MOSCOW MEDIA SAID ABOUT THE MAIL ON SUNDAY'S REVELATIONS

'British press accused of attempting to "derail" athletics championships in Moscow'

'Russian athletics coach slams doping claims'

'Sucker-punch against Russia'

'Doping scandal: 50k and your urine is as clean as a baby's'

Sayers, who came fourth at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 behind a Russian athlete, is concerned over the staggering number of 44 Russian athletes currently serving drug bans and by allegations that some were encouraged to dope by coaches and then pay to cover up positive drug test results.

Sayers is currently battling a shoulder injury, which means she will not be at the World Championships, but she claimed: 'In the past people didn't want to talk about it and now we're getting to the point where people are saying enough is enough.

'When things are so clearly getting worse in certain nations it's important that athletes speak out.'

Last week, sports minister Mutko, the highest ranking official in Russian sport, was forced to confirm The Mail on Sunday's exclusive report that the head of the anti-doping laboratory in charge of drug testing at the World Championships, Grigory Rodchenkov, had been arrested and questioned in 2011 on suspicion of distributing banned drugs.

Charges against Rodchenkov, who leads the only laboratory in Russia accredited by the World Anti-Doping Authority, were dropped after a 16-month criminal probe.

However, Russia's Federal Drug Control service admitted last week that Rodchenkov's sister, former athlete Marina Rodchenkova, had been convicted of 'illegal trade of strong drugs or poisons for the sake of distribution'. Beyond this, the Russian authorities refused to give any details of the allegations that had been made against Rodchenkov, who remains at work and will be in charge of anti-doping measures at both the World Championships in Moscow and the Winter Olympics.

But The Mail on Sunday's investigation prompted a prickly response from Mutko, including the claim that it was motivated by jealousy after Russia beat Britain in the European Team Championships in Gateshead last month.

Up to it: President Vladimir Putin (left) is pictured with Mutko (right) at the Kazan Arena earlier this month

Scathing: Goldie Sayers believes Russia are unfit to host the World Championships this summer

YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS OF US!

The Mail on Sunday's investigation into corruption and doping in Russian athletics sparked a furious response in Russian newspapers.

They were quick to respond, claiming our story was an attempt to 'derail' the upcoming World Athletics Championships.

One newspaper claimed we were motivated by jealousy, while another stated that it represented 'a sucker punch against Russia'.

There were claims that the doping accusations were coming from 'unscrupulous people' despite our documentary evidence and access to court papers.

But amid the outcry, several Russian news sources supported us, recalling cases of national athletes sanctioned for drug use.

'One cannot react to this as unreliable sensation from a yellow-bellied Press; such inquiries have frequently led to serious consequences,' said one Moscow news outlet.

'Doping scandal: 50k and your urine is as clean as a baby's,' wrote another.

'Our successes don't sit well with many people and they can't explain our success,' he said. 'Our team at the European Championships, with a second-string roster, beat the main British team. Of course, they can't understand where these sorts of reserves come from.'

Mutko also suggested that Britain was trying to stop Russia from running their own drug-testing procedures at the Winter Olympics. And he made the extraordinary claim that drug-testing at the London Olympics last summer had included separate, secret facilities for British competitors.

'In London, there was a little house behind barbed wire, and British athletes went there, but they didn't allow us in, and that's a breach [of the rules],' Mutko told a Russian audience.

The president of the All-Russia Athletic Federation, Valentin Balakhnichev, was more reasoned, claiming doping in athletics was not just a Russian problem.

'If the criteria [for selection to host the World Championships] included positive doping results, many countries would be deprived of staging major sporting events,' he said. 'This is not a single-country problem; this is a world problem.'

WADA would not comment specifically on allegations about the Russian laboratory or Rodchenkov, although a spokesman expressed disappointment at its lack of investigative powers.

Revelation: How The Mail on Sunday reported the story initially

'Under the existing code, we do not have the power to carry out investigations,' said a spokesman. 'One of the proposed changes to the 2015 Code is for WADA to have greater powers. This would be a positive step forward in the fight against doping in sport.'

That may not be enough to satisfy British triple jumper Nathan Douglas, who reacted to The Mail on Sunday's report by saying on Twitter: 'Surely we won't be using this lab now!' He described the Russian anti-doping set-up as 'a completely corrupt system'.

Outspoken: British triple jumper Nathan Douglas echoed Sayers' opinions on the Russian system

'In London, there was a little house behind barbed wire, and British athletes went there, but they didn’t allow us in, and that’s a breach'

Vitaly Mutko, Russia’s Sports Minister reacts to The Mail on Sunday’s story by alleging cheating by British athletes at the 2012 Olympics

Sayers fears there is a danger of all athletes being tarred with the same brush but insists that some countries have a more deeply embedded struggle with doping.

'On the one hand, you can't accuse people unless they've been caught because that's unfair, you don't have proof,' she said. 'But when so many people are caught from a country like Russia, it does make you question the validity of their results.'

Sayers claims that the competition schedules of some Russian athletes are suspicious.

'They won't compete outside Russia on a regular basis,' she said. 'To see someone suddenly come out at a major championship and do an amazing performance, having not competed on the Diamond League circuit, which is the only way an athlete can make a living, that makes people fairly sceptical.'

Shrouded in secrecy: Grigory Rodchenkov was arrested and questioned on suspicion of sourcing and selling banned drugs, but was released without charge

Bought to her knees: Lynsey Sharp was beaten by Russia's Yelena Arzhakova in the women's 800m final of the 2012 Europeans, but the victor has since been found guilty of doping

katchingmy

Sunday, July 14, 2013