Wada’s report into cheating in athletics damaged Russia’s reputation – but to anyone familiar with the role of sport under Putin,it contained few surprises This week’s report by the World Anti-Doping Agency into sport in Russia makes devastating reading. It concludes that Russia ran a enormous state sponsored doping programme, sabotaged the London 2012 Olympics, and should be banned from athletics.
Some details are extraordinary. Intelligence agents were smuggled into Moscow’s scandal-hit laboratory to intimidate staff. But for anyone who has followed the changing role of sport under Vladimir Putin,the report is hardly a surprise. In fact, the doping scandal encompasses many of the key themes that have arrive to define Putin’s rule. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com