THE KREMLIN ON Tuesday dismissed claims by Russian whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov that President Vladimir Putin ordered a state-sponsored doping programme, calling them baseless “slander.”
“This is yet more slander which doesn’t have a single piece of evidence to support it,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists following allegations made by Rodchenkov to German public broadcaster ARD.
The ARD report on Monday quoted Rodchenkov, the source of revelations on Moscow’s state-sponsored doping, as saying that orders came from the Russian leader who was kept informed through former sports minister Vitaly Mutko.
“Of course it came all the way from the top, from the president,” Rodchenkov claimed. “Because only the president can deploy the domestic secret service FSB for such a special task.”
Rodchenkov is the former head of Moscow’s anti-doping laboratory who fled to the United States in 2016 following the sudden death of two senior officials from Russia’s anti-doping agency. He is now wanted in Russia and Peskov painted him as an “odious” criminal.
Mr Rodchenkov is a wanted man, he is under investigation,” Peskov said. “He is an odious individual who has problems with the law… he clearly cannot be treated as a source with any credibility.”
“There is lack of readiness and willingness to use any other sources to confirm this information,” Peskov said of the German report.
Russia has been banned from taking part at the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics although individual athletes who prove themselves to be clean can compete under strict conditions and under a neutral flag.
Russia was suspended in August 2016 following revelations of widespread state-sponsored doping uncovered in a report by Richard McLaren on behalf of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Neither WADA nor the International Olympic Committee have linked Putin to the conspiracy, only pointing to the sports ministry and slapping lifetime Olympic bans on Nagornikh and Mutko.
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If there’s anyone who is into sports documentaries, or the topic of doping, Icarus is a must-watch.
Even just as a character study of Grigory Rodchenkov, Icarus makes for compelling viewing.
@EK:
I agree. Brilliant docco
@EK: Great documentary. Starts out as a routine look at doping in cycling then explodes as he discovers the Rodchenkov story……..
Oscar nominated too
@EK: I only happened to watch it for the first time last night and it’s easily one of the most gripping pieces of film I’ve ever watched. Sucks you in and shocks you with how sophisticated the whole system was…like something from a 007 flick at times
@Con Berkery: From Russia with Drugs?
In Russia you’re either with Vlad or you get a polonium 235 cup of cha.
@Minom Pnnomm: here’s a interesting list of people dying well before their time
https://www.usatoday.com/pages/interactives/suspicious-russian-deaths-sacrificial-pawns-or-coincidence/
Anybody who criticises Putin has ‘problems with the law’, so I don’t see how that’s a big revelation!
@Malachi:
“I AM the law”…
@Malachi: yeah, it’s pretty much illegal to publicly oppose him.
Putin makes Trump look cuddly
Yea russian atheletes are the only ones to dope. Its all over most sports an to focus on jus one perpetrator leaves the others free do do as they wish. Cheats in every sport an they all races an creeds
@Mondo: but how many are state sponsored?
@Dave O Keeffe: probably all the countries that win a large medal haul at the Olympics. Do you think the Russians are the only ones at it?