The latest and most comprehensive report on Russia’s cheating at the 2014 Winter Olympics gives the International Olympic Committee all the evidence it needs to ban every Russian team from the forthcoming Rio Games.
The report, commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency to investigate a fast-growing body of evidence against Russia, is damning and unequivocal. Compiled by Richard McLaren, a Canadian expert on sports ethics, it affirms “beyond a reasonable doubt” a massive government-ordered program of feeding steroids to Russian athletes and covering up the evidence — a program that involved various organs of the Russian state, including the sports ministry, the security service and the agency charged with preparing national teams.