Russian athletes should not be allowed to take part in next year’s Olympics, Grigory Rodchenko, a Russian doping system debuter and former head of the Moscow laboratory, told the BBC.
In an interview with the BBC published on Monday, Rodenčkov revealed that the latest manipulations of athletes’ data were carried out by the same people who supported the national doping scheme at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
“The disqualification should be given to the entire Russian team without exception,” said the former head of the Moscow laboratory. “The same people who changed the samples and data in Sochi also made changes to the latest documents.”
“The data was distorted on a huge scale, which means that the state has learned absolutely nothing.”
Already at the 2018 Olympics, Russian athletes could not start under their own flag, but some of those who were able to prove their innocence competed in the Olympic Games under a neutral flag.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) imposed a new four-year disqualification on Russia last year, which also resulted in the suspension of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA). This decision came after Russia repeatedly provided false information during the WADA investigation.
Meanwhile, World Athletics has disqualified Russia from the field of athletics since 2015, but athletes from this great power will no longer be able to use the “neutral” status because Russia has not paid it a pre-determined fine of ten million dollars.
In a conversation with the BBC, Rodchenkov said that World Athletics would not be mistaken if he disqualified Russian athletes for life.
“Such a step would be right, because people from the Russian athletics environment are absolutely guilty or have been complicit,” Rodchenkov said, covering his face and body with a dark cloth.
Russia has so far denied any state-sponsored doping-related activities on its territory. The Grand Sports Arbitration Court (CAS) has already appealed the WADA decision.
Rodchenkov is the main witness to the whole saga of the state-funded doping program at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. His residence in the United States is kept secret.
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