‘Full restriction’: US anti-doping chief wants ban on ALL Russian athletes at 2020 Tokyo Games
by RT
‘Full restriction’: US anti-doping chief wants ban on ALL Russian athletes at 2020 Tokyo Games
US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) chief Travis Tygart has called on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to impose a complete ban on Russia, suggesting that athletes should be banned from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics even as neutrals.
Tygart insisted that such a step would help to “protect clean athletes” and punish Russia for alleged doping violations.
“WADA must get tougher and impose the full restriction on Russian athlete participation in the Olympics that the rules allow,” Tygart said.
“Only such a resolute response has a chance of getting Russia’s attention, changing behavior, and protecting today’s clean athletes who will compete in Tokyo, as well as future generations of athletes in Russia who deserve better than a cynical, weak response to the world’s repeated calls for Russia to clean up its act,” he added.
The doping row involving Russia reignited more than a month ago after WADA allegedly found inconsistencies in data extracted from a Moscow laboratory, and initiated a procedure of reviewing the status of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA).
On Tuesday, the WADA compliance review committee recommended to declare RUSADA non-compliant with the WADA code for a four-year period, as well as prohibiting the country from hosting major events.
The committee didn’t ask for a blanket ban on Russian athletes, mentioning that clean athletes who have never been implicated in doping rows should be allowed to compete, as was the case at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
