The Role Of Redemption At WADA As IAAF Gets Sochi File In Readiness For Russian Rio Vote

In hitting back at the criticism that it dragged its heels when confronted with whistle-blower evidence of systematic doping in Russia four years ago, the World Anti-Doping Agency has highlight some of the critical issues that will need addressing at an Olympic summit in October designed to overhaul the fight for clean sport.

In the face of criticism that it took ARD German television documentaries in late 2014 to bring matters to the public domain and prompt serious inquiry after Vitaly Stepanov and his wife Yulia had delivered damning evidence to WADA as far back as 2010, the anti-doping agency noted that it had provided financial assistance to the couple for their relocation.

It’s primary concern was for their safety – and that, said WADA, meant that the top table of the organisation could not be open in its discussions about the Stepanovs and their evidence because Russians they could not trust were sitting there at the helm of WADA leadership.

Vitaliy Stepanov [ARD]

Stepanov, a former-Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) official and Stepanova, an 800m runner who tested positive for doping, have been in hiding in various places – and are now believed to be in the United States – since providing evidence of widespread systematic doping at the highest level of Russian sport, politics, including the secret services, and anti-doping. Their evidence was first aired in the ARD Sportsschau documentaries made by the station’s investigations team, led by Hajo Seppelt.

The documentaries sparked an independent commission led by former-WADA president Dick Pound. Russia was banned form all track and field competition. An IAAF vote on June 17 will decide whether they get back for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games or not.

WADA has now been stung by criticism that it dragged its feet for years before telling Stepanov to take his evidence to reporters,  because the organisation was not built to play policeman and was not capable of handling the seriousness of the issues involved, say some critics.

Olivier Niggli, who will take over as WADA director general later this month, hit back at the criticism when he said that the anti-doping agency had made its top priority to protect the Stepanovs, who were in fear for their lives. WADA had been prudent, not slow.

However, Stepanov has told the media that he sent hundreds of mails to WADA in 2010 that did not elicit any action.

Niggli, however, notes that a process started almost straight away: “That is what we have to make clear it is not like in 2010 WADA got a whole packet of information and just sat on it for all that time.

“He was giving us the big picture. He was saying I will stay in touch I will try to get more information which is what he did over time. This has been a process. We had the first meeting with Mr. Stepanov in Vancouver in 2010 and it was followed by two emails that year.”

Then, Niggli reveals a timeline that may well be read as confirming a certain amount of dragging of heels, depending own what those initial ‘hundreds of emails’ revealed. Niggli noted that initial contact was followed by more discussion and another meeting in 2011 and the same in 2012 but it wasn’t until 2013 when Yulia was caught for doping that the Stepanovs decided to get serious about delivering WADA the information it was asking for. Niggli recalls:

“It was really only in 2013 when he and his wife started talking to each other about what was going on that they were saying we will try to get more evidence and do the right thing. In 2013 they said, ok now we are ready to gather more evidence because we all agreed that is what was needed.”

Is Russia ready to chink glasses with the IOC once more. Not a hope suggested the latest ARD film “Red Herrings”

It is then that Niggli gets to the crux of the problem: the very way in which WADA and its code has been built and the structures that link it to the IOC and other organisations, the binding network including many who are able to sit in on critical meetings, listen and take back intelligence to their political masters.

When the Stepanovs had brought enough credible evidence to WADA’s attention, the agency …

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