IOC panel of three to make final decision on Russia's participation in Olympics

At 4 o'clock this morning BST, the IOC Executive Board made an announcement to the effect that three individuals appointed by them will have a final say on which Russian athletes can compete at the Rio Olympic Games.

'Participation of Russian athletes in Rio

The EB decided to delegate the final decision on the acceptance of entries of Russian athletes to a Review Panel composed of three IOC Executive Board Members: Ugur Erdener, Claudia Bokel and Juan Antonio Samaranch.  The Review Panel is due to make a final decision in the coming days.'

RRG's take on this

This latest, very last minute twist in the controversy surrounding Russia's participation in the Games, suggests that the IOC has a degree of concern over the likely consistency of decisions taken by the sports' governing bodies to whom they delegated decision making only a few days ago.   It is difficult to see how an appointed panel of three individuals will have time to consider the data presented on so many different athletes, but presumably the IOC has felt it needs to confirm at least a veneer of responsibility.  The ongoing uncertainty can only be destabilising for Russia's athletes as they attempt to prepare mentally for the competition ahead.  While the scale of Russia's wrongdoing in sport is considered by many to be collosal, this is very hard on individual clean athlete.

Never before has sport been so political on the global scale.  Past political influence on sport has resulted in Olympic boycotts, protests and the exclusion of whole countries from competition.  The difference now is that the IOC is imposing sports measures that could be considered to be directly political.  While much focus rests on the question of individual athletes' participation in the Games, the wider picture is that the IOC has taken emergency measures (19th July announcement) to prevent Russia's staging of sporting events:

'The IOC will not organise or give patronage to any sports event or meeting in Russia. This includes plans for the European Games 2019 organised by the European Olympic Committees (EOC).'

'Because of the detailed references to the manipulation of samples during the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014 the IOC asks all International Olympic Winter Sports Federations to freeze their preparations for major events in Russia, such as World Championships, World Cups or other major international competitions under their responsibility, and to actively look for alternative organisers.'

Such sanctions could be considered to be large scale economic penalties against the Russian Federation.  Russia's tourism strategy is linked to its staging of sporting events and involves billions of roubles invested in new stadiums and infrastructure.  Its plans to develop its tourism industry and visitor economy rests in part on the staging of such mega events as the European Games.  The country's economic development and potential will be hit by these IOC sanctions if carried through.

Meanwhile, the Russian voice and feeling against the IOC is growing.  President Vladimir Putin (27th July) could be considered to be leveraging Russia's indignation at the IOC's actions to create stronger emotional support for his leadership amongst his country's citizens and to create a smokescreen to mask his country's wrongdoing.

Summary of President Putin's 27th July statement

Reuters also produced a 29th July report on President's Putin's ideas of the the Olympic ban as a political plot.

Athletes, politicians and members of the public have spoken out against the IOC measures and there seems to be little understanding amongst Russians as to the reasons for them.  In gymnastics, Russian head coach Valentina Rodionenko has volunteered the opinion that WADA's investigation into Russian sport, and the resulting sanctions, is a result of global political distaste for Russia's military involvement in Ukraine and Crimea.  Andrei Rodionenko has kept the argument closer to the sporting home, pointing out that WADA has too much power.  He believes that Russian has been unfairly treated:

'Russian lawyers and representatives who went to the CAS hearing weren�t really heard, no one cared what they had to say, everything was already decided before the hearing'

Russian athletics has staged its own local competition for its excluded athletes, prompting outbursts from high profile athletes such as Elena Isinbayeva:

'We ran into such injustice when they took away the Olympic Games from us, but, as I said yesterday, it will only make us stronger'

This theme of growing strength in the face of adversity is echoed from within the gymnastics community as Valentina Rodionenko and Aliya Mustafina point out collective and individual motivation that develops from such adversity.

'We are going to fight, because Russian people only get stronger facing hardship' (Valentina Rodionenko)

'I would be personally hurt if the entire Russian team were banned, and would want to see the faces of those who did it.  But I will not be broken; I would be more hurt for our young girls who have not yet participated in the Olympics.  They are like children for me.  I remember how I prepared for my first Olympics, what I felt and the hopes I had.' (Aliya Mustafina)

Russian defiance against the sporting measures is hardening as time passes, and the Russian public voice is beginning to link the Olympics with what they see as other high profile 'smears' against their state such as email hacking. 71% of Russians think that WADA's evidence of state-sponsored doping is not convincing; 55% think that the accusations are groundless and are part of a 'political hit job' against Russia; 83% disapprove of Russia's banning from the Games.  Commentators blame state TV, the main political fodder of the wider public, for fuelling the Russian population's misunderstandings about the doping controversy.   There is the suggestion that Cold War is more active now than it was during the time of the Soviet Union.

It also seems likely that Russia's concept of sports medicine is different to that held by many of us in the West - or is it?  No other sports system has come under such close scrutiny.  Skating coach Rafael Aratunyan has spoken of a different culture of drug use in Russian sport.  Aliya Mustafina has said quite openly that she was 'given' meldonium from the age of ten.  The drug was legal at the time, but legality does not tell the whole story of the ethical and sporting assumptions involved in this action.

A valid criticism of the way that WADA and the IOC have handled Russia's affairs is their sole focus on Russia to the exclusion of other countries.  Russian state interference in sport is characterised as undesirable, but then all governments use sport to an extent in their PR, tourism and social policy.  Orchestrating widespread cheating is taking things too far, but without full and equal investigation, who can say what goes on elsewhere?  Given the limitations of WADA's research and methodology, the weakness of the IOC response to it, and the highly politicised, Putin-fuelled coverage given to it by the Russian media, it is hardly surprising that Russia considers the actions to be strongly biassed against them and the sanctions to be disproportionate in severity.  We too, in the West, should remember that our perceptions and understanding are influenced by our own biasses, prejudices and media and that there are always (at least) two sides to every situation.

The artistic gymnastics competition gets underway next Saturday, on the morning following the Olympics opening ceremony.  Russia's artistic gymnastics team will therefore be amongst the first to be vetted by the IOC's panel of three.  Hopefully, if the team are not logging into their social media or watching the TV they will be unaware of this final, last minute hurdle imposed by the IOC.  On the face of it, the IOC should merely be rubber stamping the existing cleared athletes, but it remains to be seen how they will see the case of Natalia Kapitonova, Russia's 16 year old reserve who has little in the way of a competitive record (Russian champion on uneven bars and two World Cup competitions, but was she tested?).  If things go the wrong way, as Aliya Mustafina said, I wouldn't like to be the person who tells this innocent young girl that she has been sanctioned for the wrongdoings of others.  Russia would be sure to use her case as an example of the gross injustice of the blanket bans imposed by the IOC and we could see her face plastered all over the newspapers.  Many gymnastics commentators have questioned the position of Nikolai Kuksenkov, Russia's MAG team captain who tested positive for traces of meldonium earlier this year, but following investigations WADA cleared him of any suspicion.  RRG therefore considers that Kuksenkov's case is clearcut and that he will be competing in Rio.

So when Kuksenkov leads the Russian team out into the arena he will be amongst the first Russian athletes to be seen at the Games.  Both MAG and WAG teams will be under intense scrutiny like never before.  Whether this pressure does fire the teams to produce the best performances of which they are capable will not be seen until next week.  But it's certain that, once again, gymnastics will headline at the Olympics and Russia will be a huge part of the narrative, for better or for worse.  As they are all clean athletes, I would like to wish them the very best of luck.