SPORTS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2016

Over 1,000 Russian Le Clos breaks 100m athletes benefited from conspiracy fly world record

LONDON: More than 1,000 Russian athletes competing MONTREAL: Chad le Clos, rebounding from what he considered missing reigning champion and world record-holder Mireia in summer, winter and paralytic sport were involved in a disappointing Rio Olympics, won his second gold of the Short Belmonte of Spain, who pulled out of the event after a disap- or benefited from an institutional conspiracy to conceal Course World Championships on Thursday with a pointing showing in the 400m medley on Tuesday. positive doping tests, an independent WADA report said world record-setting victory in the 100m butterfly. The South yesterday. The second and final part of the report for the African's time of 48.08sec improved his own world record of Koch snags second gold World Anti-Doping Agency by Canadian sports lawyer 48.44, set at the previous edition of the championships in Doha in Germany's Marco Koch further soothed the disappointment of Richard McLaren provided more details of an elaborate 2014. Le Clos, denied a 200m fly Olympic repeat in Rio, added Rio with a victory in the 200m breaststroke, adding a second gold state-sponsored doping scheme operated by Russia. another gold to the 200m fly title he captured on Tuesday when to the 100m breast title he captured on Wednesday. Koch, the It said there was a systematic cover-up, which was the championships kicked off in Windsor, . reigning long course world champion who was relegated to sev- refined at the 2012 Olympics, 2013 world athletics cham- American Tom Shields was second in 49.04 and Australian enth in the 200m breast at the Olympics, clocked a championship pionships and 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, and that David Morgan claimed bronze in 49.31. Hungary's one-woman record of 2:01.21 for a comfortable win over Britain's Andrew more than 30 sports, including soccer, were involved in wrecking crew of Katinka Hosszu, a treble gold medalist in Rio, Willis (2:02.71) with Russia's Mikhail Dorinov third in 2:03.09. concealing positive doping samples. "We are now able picked up her fourth individual gold of the championships in the Australian Brittany Elmslie, a relay gold medallist in Rio, snatched to confirm a cover up that dates back until at least 2011 200m backstroke. It was another convincing win for the "Iron victory in the women's 100m freestyle, earning her first short and continued after the Sochi . It was a Lady," who was in control from the 50m mark and steadily built course world title in 51.81. cover up that evolved from uncontrolled chaos to an her lead to win in 2:00.79 - more than a second in front of runner- Silver went to 2012 double Olympic sprint gold medalist institutionalized and disciplined medal-winning conspir- up Daryna Zevina of Ukraine (2:02.24). Australian Emily Seebohm of the Netherlands, who was second in acy," McLaren told a news conference on Friday. took bronze in 2:02.65. 51.92, while Canadian teenager Penny Oleksiak, who shared "It was a cover-up of an unprecedented scale and the Hosszu, winner of the 200m butterfly, 100m back and 400m 100m free gold with American in Rio, took bronze second part of this report shows the evidence that individual medley earlier in the meeting, also topped the semi- in 52.01. The United States capped the night with a victory in the increases the number of athletes involved as well as the final times in the 100m individual medley. But she wasn't a factor mixed 4x50m medley relay. Michael Chadwick, swimming the scope of the conspiracy and cover up. "We have evi- as she capped her night with an eighth-place finish in the 800m final freestyle leg, hit the water in seventh place but stormed dence revealing that more than 500 positive results were freestyle won by American Leah Smith. Smith, the 400m free home to complete the victory in 1:37.22. The win gave breaststro- reported as negative, including well-known and elite- bronze medalist in Rio, led all the way to head a US one-two in ker Lilly King her third gold of the championships, after an indi- level athletes, who had their positive results automatical- 8:10.17. Ashley Twichell was second in 8:11.95 and Australian Kiah vidual triumph in the 50m breast and her swim on America's ly falsified." McLaren said Russia won 24 gold, 26 silver Melverton was earned bronze in 8:16.51. The 800 free field was world record-setting women's 4x50m medley relay. — AFP and 32 bronze medals at London 2012 and no Russian athlete tested positive. "Yet the Russian team corrupted the London Games on an unprecedented scale, the extent of which will probably never be fully established," he said. "The desire to win medals superseded their collective moral and ethical compass and Olympic values of fair play. "For years international sports competitions have unknowingly been hijacked by the Russians. Coaches and athletes have been playing on an uneven field." The report said a urine sample-swapping technique used at Sochi became regular practice at the Moscow laboratory that dealt with elite athletes. It added that four Sochi gold medalists had samples with physiologically impos- sible salt readings, while 12 Russian Sochi medalists had evidence of tampering with the bottles containing their urine samples. WINDSOR: Chad Le Clos of South Africa competes in the 100m Butterfly final on day three of the 13th FINA World Swimming The report detailed how a clean urine bank existed in Championships (25m) at the WFCU Centre on December 8, 2016 in Windsor , Canada. — AFP the Moscow laboratory, where salt and coffee were added to clean samples to try to fool officials testing "B samples" in supposedly tamper-proof bottles. The report included evidence of DNA mismatches, where a tam- Key points from McLaren report pered B sample did not match the DNA of previous spec- imens and cases of sample swapping between male and female athletes. The International Association of LONDON: AFP Sports selects five key points from the damning manipulations to conceal positive doping tests," wrote Athletics Federations (IAAF) said in a statement that 53 report into Russian doping by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren. percent of the athletes whose details had been shared McLaren published yesterday: with them by McLean's investigation team had been Evolution theory sanctioned or were currently undergoing disciplinary State-sponsored doping McLaren says that the sytematic doping process was adapted proceedings. McLaren makes no bones that what was clear in his first report through several years and major sporting events to also take into The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said remains the case in his second one that it was state-sponsored account WADA rule changes as they tried to stay ahead of the the full findings of the report were unprecedented and doping, 'An institutional conspiracy', involving among others the testers and their developing of more effective testing for different astonishing. "They strike right at the heart of the integri- Russian Sports Ministry and Russia's FSB security service. "The doping products. "This systematic and centralized cover up and ty and ethics of sport," Paralympic sport's governing summer and winter sports athletes were not acting individually manipulation of the doping control process evolved and was body said in a statement. Yelena Isinbayeva, the twice but within an organized infrastructure as reported on in the 1st refined over the course of its use at London 2012 Summer Games, Olympic pole vault champion and now a Russian anti- Report," wrote McLaren. Universiade Games 2013, Moscow IAAF World Championships doping official, however, said it was unfair to single out 2013 and the Winter Games in Sochi in 2014. The evolution of the Russia for criticism. "If we want to clean up world sport, Sochi was not the climax infrastructure was also spawned in response to WADA regulatory let's start," she said. "We don't need to concentrate on McLaren makes plain the system wasn't just set up for the changes and surprise interventions," wrote McLaren. just one country. I think banning clean Russian sports- 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics-so Russian athletes could sweep the men is impractical and unfair." board in front of a home audience-but was to continue after- 'Immutable facts' The original McLaren report, released in July, revealed wards. "The swapping of Russian athletes' urine samples further McLaren-who was riled by the International Olympic widespread state-sponsored doping in Russian sport. confirmed in this 2nd Report as occurring at Sochi, did not stop at Committee's reaction to his first Report in saying they were alle- The July report found Moscow had concealed hundreds the close of the Winter Olympics. The sample swapping tech- gations when the law professor said they were facts-stipulates of positive doping tests in many sports ahead of the nique used at Sochi became a regular monthly practice of the this Report is not based on verbal evidence for its conclusion and Sochi Games and led to a partial ban of Russian athletes Moscow Laboratory in dealing with elite and summer and winter adds the key findings from his first Report remain unchanged. competing in the Rio Olympics in August. Although athletes," wrote McLaren. "The forensic testing, which is based on immutable facts, is con- Russian track and field athletes and weightlifters were clusive. The evidence does not depend on verbal testimony to banned from competing at Rio, the International Over 1,000 athletes draw a conclusion. Rather, it tests the physical evidence and a Olympic Committee rejected a blanket ban and let inter- The scale of the doping is eye-opening, McLaren states that conclusion is drawn from those results. The results of the forensic over 1000 Russian sports people from across the spectrum, and laboratory analysis initiated by the IP (Independent Person) national sports federations decide which athletes should summer and winter sports and Paralympians were involved. establish that the conspiracy was perpetrated between 2011 and be eligible to compete. — Reuters "They can be identified as being involved in or benefiting from 2015." — AFP