Tag: Olympics

  • Russia Banned from South Korea 2018 Winter Olympics Games by IOC Over Systematic Doping

    Russia Banned from South Korea 2018 Winter Olympics Games by IOC Over Systematic Doping

    It has been confirmed that Russia will play no official role come 2018 Winter Olympics Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The country’s government officials are forbidden to attend, its flag will not be displayed at the opening ceremony and its anthem will not sound.

    Even though some Russian athletes will be allowed to compete, they will do so as individuals wearing a neutral uniform, and the official record books will forever show that Russia won zero medals.

    The IOC also handed a lifetime ban to the country’s deputy prime minister, Vitaly Mutko, preventing him from having any involvement in the Olympic Games, and has ordered the Russian government to pay $15m towards a new Independent Testing Authority and reimburse the cost of their investigations.

    The head of the IOC, Thomas Bach, revealed the decision in a press conference in Lausanne, Switzerland on Tuesday. “This was an unprecedented attack on the integrity of the Olympic Games and sport,” he said of Russia’s sophisticated doping system.

    Vladimir Putin is expected to respond in the next 24 hours with the possibility that Russia will decide to boycott the Winter Olympics and withdraw any competitors from taking part as authorised neutral athletes, an option he had previously described as a “humiliating compromise”.

     

    The former Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko (Getty)

    Bach added: “The IOC, after following due process, has issued proportional sanctions for this systemic manipulation while protecting the clean athletes. This should draw a line under this damaging episode and serve as a catalyst for a more effective anti-doping system led by WADA.

    “As an athlete myself, I feel very sorry for all the clean athletes from all NOCs who are suffering from this manipulation. Working with the IOC Athletes’ Commission, we will now look for opportunities to make up for the moments they have missed on the finish line or on the podium.”

    Russia was barred from London’s Athletics World Championships this year in the wake of the McLaren report, which revealed details of a state-sponsored doping programme that had been in place for many years.

    And the follow-up Schmid report confirmed a “systemic manipulation of the anti-doping rules and system in Russia” citing a lack of effort to address the issue, forcing the IOC to take action.

    In his findings, the IOC commission chairman Samuel Schmid found that doping was fully endorsed by the Russian sports ministry, of which Vladimir Putin’s deputy Mutko was in charge up until October 2016.

    Pressure will now grow on Fifa to take action over Mutko, who heads up Russia’s 2018 World Cup team as president of the football union.

    However, like the McLaren report, the Schmid report was careful not to directly implicate the Kremlin itself, noting there was no evidence “confirming the support of knowledge of this system by the highest state authority”.

     

     

  • Google+ Hangouts Host Olympic Athletes

    Google+ Hangouts Host Olympic Athletes

    Google’s Hangout feature is once again giving Google+ users a chance to get closer to the stars, this time with a Olympic twist. The New York Times-sponsored series started on Wednesday with basketball stars Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks, and Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers. Both are members of the 2012 USA Basketball team. The hangouts will run through next Tuesday.

    Google Hangouts have been a favorite stop of politicians, celebrities, and friends.President Obama used the feature to connect with voters back in January, and musical artists the Black Eyed Peas participated in a hangout last October to chat with fans shortly before they took the stage at a concert in New York City. But with the Olympics coming up in short order, it makes sense for these hangouts to feature some of America’s top athletes, doesn’t it? That said, the list of athletes participating is heavy in the marathoner department, with three runners. Friday’s chat featured Shalane Flanagan, a long distance runner planning to participate in the Olympic Marathon. Monday’s Olympic Games Hangout will also feature another runner, male marathoner Ryan Hall, who is expected to contend for a medal in London. His Google Plus hangout begins at 2 p.m. ET. Hall will be followed by brothers Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, the second ranked men’s doubles team in the world and widely expected to earn a medal in the Olympic tennis tournament. Their chat occurs at 5 p.m. ET Monday.

    The Hangout series ends on Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET, with yet another marathoner, Kara Goucher. All chats occur from The New York Times’Google+ page. If you would like to ask a question, either comment on the post announcing the Hangout or post the question to your own Google+ wall with the hashtag #London2012Hangout. Those with the best questions will get the chance to ask them live of the athletes during the event, the paper says.