Bach strikes back at WADA over Russian doping

The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, went on the offensive during a debate lasting more than two hours on the first day of the IOC's general assembly in Rio de Janeiro.

Facing widespread criticism over the IOC board's decision not to impose a blanket ban on Russian athletes from competing in Rio after doping allegations, Bach opened the meeting by putting the move to a vote by the organization's members. The 85 delegates backed the decision by a vote of 84-1.

The German IOC president then lashed out at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). It was a report commissioned by WADA that pointed to a state-sponsored system of doping in Russian sports; the organization subsequently called for all of that country's athletes to be banned from competing in Rio, a recommendation that the IOC ignored. Instead, it instructed the international federations of the sports represented at the Olympics to decide whether or not to ban Russian athletes from the Games.

"Recent developments have shown that we need a full review of the WADA anti-doping system," Bach said. "The IOC is calling for a more robust and efficient anti-doping system. This requires clear responsibilities, more transparency, more independence and better worldwide harmonization."

Bach also denied that the IOC bore any responsibility for the doping controversy that is threatening to overshadow the Rio Games, which officially begin with Friday's opening ceremony.

Some delegates accused WADA of failing to act swiftly enough on the information of Russian middle-distance runner Yulia Stepanova, who provided information to German public broadcaster ARD, whose documentaries led to the scandal. The IOC has barred Stepanova from competing in Rio.

"Already in 2010 the whistleblower came to WADA. They said they didn't know what to do with this," Israeli member Alex Giladi said. "One has to scratch his head if WADA say they did not know what to do with whistleblowers that came to them with clear information and just left it."

The WADA-commissioned report on doping in Russia was released just last month.

WADA President Craig Reedie, who is also an IOC vice president, defended his organization's actions, saying that it had acted as soon as concrete facts were available. However, he also conceded that there was room for improvement.

"I like to believe all of the system is not broken," Reedie said. "Part of the system is broken. We should start trying to identify those parts that need attention."

About the only thing that the two sides were able to agree on, is the fact that the international anti-doping system needs to be fixed, if the credibility of the fight against the use of performance enhancing drugs is to be restored.

pfd/msh (AFP, Reuters, AP)