FasterSkier

Tag: 2016 Summer Olympics

  • FasterSkier’s Para-Nordic Skiers of the Year: Oksana Masters and Brian McKeever

    FasterSkier’s Para-Nordic Skiers of the Year: Oksana Masters and Brian McKeever

    Canada’s Brian McKeever (Photo: Graham Longford) and American Oksana Masters (Photo: USOC) are FasterSkier’s Para-Nordic Skiers of the Year.

    With the 2016/2017 season officially in the rearview, FasterSkier is excited to unveil its annual award winners for this past winter. Votes stem from the FS staff, scattered across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and while not scientific, they are intended to reflect a broader sense of the season in review. This set of honors goes to outstanding Para-Nordic skiers on the IPC World Cup circuit. 

    Previous categories: Junior Skiers of the Year | Collegiate Skiers of the Year | Canadian Continental Skiers of the Year | U.S. Continental Skiers of the Year | Nordic Combined Athlete of the Year | Biathletes of the Year

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    Oksana Masters, U.S. Paralympics Nordic 

    Six medals in seven days. Four of them gold. Never before had a U.S. athlete taken home four gold medals from a World Para Nordic Skiing Championships, but U.S. Paralympics Nordic A-team member Oksana Masters changed all that.

    Oksana Masters (U.S. Paralympics Nordic) after winning her first IPC World Championships gold in the women’s cross-country sitting sprint on Sunday, Feb. 12, in Finsterau, Germany. (Photo: John Farra/US Paralympics Nordic)

    The 27-year-old sit skier racked up six World Championships medals in Finsterau, Germany, including her second-career biathlon win in the women’s 6 k sprint (her first came earlier this season in the first biathlon race of the year).

    “I am completely shocked,” Masters told media outlets after the sprint. “I entered this race with no expectations. I went from not being sure if I was going to be able to race the last two days to winning my first gold medal in biathlon. I’m so excited! I cannot wait to let this all soak in.”

    But Masters didn’t just dominate the world champs scene. After ending last season undefeated in every International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Cup cross-country race she entered, she almost did it again, winning all but one cross-country race this winter (she placed second in the last cross-country race of the season).

    “I feel like I had a pretty great season, especially coming off training for a complete other sport that uses a complete opposite motion not too long ago,” Masters said, according to a U.S. Paralympics press release, referring to her handcycling training for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

    “I’m really happy with my season and my training,” she added. “I feel extremely hopeful to have to good races in PyeongChang next year.”

    Brian McKeever, Canadian Para-Nordic Skiing

    At 37, Canada’s Brian McKeever is a team veteran and a world leader in para-nordic skiing. In 2010, he became the first athlete in the world to be named to both Olympic and Paralympic teams. In his three Winter Paralympics, he’s accumulated 13 medals, 10 of them gold.

    And this year, after turning his focus to the overseas Ski Classics marathon series, he earned his 18th and 19th IPC World Championships gold, winning both the men’s 10 k and 20 k visually impaired races. Prior to that, he won the season-opening IPC World Cup sprint in Vuokatti, Finland. By the end of the season, he also qualified for and competed in the International Ski Federation (FIS) World Cup Finals in Quebec City, Quebec.

    Brian McKeever jumping in front of Norway's Petter Kaarby just before the final climb. (Photo: Graham Longford)
    Brian McKeever passing Norway’s Petter Kaarby just before the final climb of the 2017 Marciolonga in Italy. He finished 57th overall. (Photo: Graham Longford)

    “I think putting the focus on Ski Classics this year was really interesting. From struggling to hit the top 40 to suddenly to be able to ski with the leaders this year, that was good,” McKeever said after his final race at World Cup Finals.

    “I am learning as well in that, and I see the opportunities there with the older guys that are still at the top and that is highly motivating for a guy that is maybe beyond his peak, at least as far as age goes, but I am still having fun and still learning,” he added. “So that is motivating for me, to continually learn something when I am out racing.”  

    Honorable Mention: Mark Arendz, Canadian Para-Nordic Skiing

    Canada’s Mark Arendz, now 27, also opened his World Championships week with a win for his second world title and first podium at a top-level international race (in a non-Paralympic year) in three years after winning the men’s 12.5 k standing biathlon race. 

    He earned four more world champs medals, including a biathlon sprint gold, a biathlon individual silver, a cross-country bronze, and a relay bronze.

     “It has been an incredible season for me, but most noticeably I have brought my shooting back,” Arendz wrote in an email to FasterSkier. “It is now a strength and no longer holding me back. The other huge take away is I now have the confidence in my ski speed to be competitive in any Cross Country race.”

    “The highlights from the season for me were World Championships and the 10km Classic in Korea,” Arendz continued. “Worlds were fantastic for me. Five medals from six races; the confidence was there and I was in the best shape of the year. I carried that shape into the test event in Korea. For two out of three laps I was having my best classic race ever. After a little stumble I couldn’t regain my focus, but until then I had the confidence that I could win a Classic race. I will grasp that belief into the training season.”

    Mark Arendz (43) of the Canadian Para-Nordic Ski Team racing to silver at the IPC World Cup on Dec. 12, in Vuokatti, Finland. (Photo: Canadian Para-Nordic Skiing/Facebook)
  • Olympic Tidbits: Canada’s Whitten 7th in Cycling TT; Kristina Valjas 9th in Beach Volleyball (Updated)

    Olympic Tidbits: Canada’s Whitten 7th in Cycling TT; Kristina Valjas 9th in Beach Volleyball (Updated)

    American Michael Phelps after winning his 20th Olympic gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly stroke. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Fernando Frazão/Agency Brazil)
    American Michael Phelps after winning his 20th Olympic gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly stroke. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Fernando Frazão/Agency Brazil)

    Note: This Olympic roundup has been updated to include the results of Czech skier Eva Vrabcová-Nývltová (who placed 26th in the Rio Olympics marathon on Sunday) and Kristina Valjas, Lenny Valjas’s sister (who finished ninth in the Olympic beach volleyball tournament on Saturday). 

    Vrabcová-Nývltová 26th in Marathon

    In her first Summer Olympics, Czech World Cup skier Eva Vrabcová Nývltová placed 26th in the women’s marathon on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, finishing in 2 hours, 33 minutes and 51 seconds (9:47 behind the winner). Kenya’s Jemima Sumgong won it in 2:24:04, outlasting Bahrain’s Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa by 9 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Mare Dibaba took bronze in 2:24:30.

    Three Americans placed in the top 10: Shalane Flanagan (6th), Desiree Linden (7th) and Amy Cragg (9th).

    Valjas Represents Canada in Beach Volleyball

    There’s Olympic blood in the Valjas family. This summer, Kristina Valjas, the older sister of Canadian national-team cross-country skier Lenny Valjas, qualified for her first Olympics in beach volleyball in Rio. And on Saturday, Aug. 13, her run with teammate Jamie Broder ended with a match against another Canadian team, Sarah Pavan and Heather Bansley.

    After what was dubbed the ‘Clash of Canadians’, Pavan and Bansley advanced to the quarterfinals with a 2-0 win (21-16, 21-11) over Valjas and Broder. Valjas and Broder went 2-1 in the preliminary round and end up ninth in the Olympic tournament overall.

    At 6-foot-2, Valjas is two years older and a few inches shorter than her 6-6, 27 year old brother. Pavan, her competitor on Saturday, is 6-5 and outreached Valjas.

    Fourcade on Phelps

    Michael Phelps is an inspiration to Martin Fourcade. That’s what the 10-time world champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and five-time defending overall International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup champion told Le Parisian this week. Fourcade, 27, said he is hooked on watching Olympic swimming and has “tremendous admiration” for the 31-year-old Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time with 26 medals, 22 of which are gold.  What does he like most about him? His story of renewal. “It’s impressive,” Fourcade said, adding that he likes Phelps’ jovial demeanor.

    Whitten Seventh in Time Trial

    Tara Whitten (Photo: Canadian Olympic Team)
    Tara Whitten (Photo: Canadian Olympic Team)

    Former Canadian national cross-country skier Tara Whitten, of Calgary, placed seventh in the women’s Olympic cycling time trial on Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Whitten finished the 29.8-kilometer course in 45:1.16, 34.74 seconds behind winner American Kristin Armstrong (who won her third-straight Olympic time trial).

    “A medal was the goal but I’m extremely proud of my 7th place finish yesterday,” Whitten tweeted.

    Whitney’s compatriot, Karol-Ann Canuel of Gatineau, Que., placed 13th.

    “When I crossed the finish line, I realized that [Whitten] was tentatively in first place, and that I was third,” Canuel told the Canadian Press. “She cut about one minute to my time, so I said to myself: ‘Wow, Tara might make an upset.’ I think she was happy with her performance and she was feeling great. Good for her.”

    Whitten, 36, is a three-time world champion and two-time Olympian in cycling. At the 2012 London Games, she helped the Canadian team to bronze in the women’s team pursuit and placed fourth in the omnium (a multiple-race track cycling event). Earlier this year in March, she was injured while inspecting the road course in Rio when her bike collided with the back of a bus. She was knocked unconscious and broke a bone at the base of her scull, according to a University of Alberta article. Despite her training interruption and subsequent delay in being named to the Canadian Olympic team, Whitten made the cut and returned to Rio.

    Before her career as a cyclist, Whitten was a national-team skier and silver medalist at the 2003 Nordic U23 World Championships. She reached the 2005 Nordic World Championships, but missed qualifying for the 2006 Winter Olympics the following year. In 2007 at the age of 27, she became a competitive cyclist and captured her first world championship medal in 2009. This past June, she earned her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Alberta. According to the Canadian Olympic Team website, she’ll be looking for a post-doctoral position after the Rio Games.

    Nordic Nations Lead Medals Per Capita

    Check out MedalsPerCapita.com, and you’ll likely notice a trend: three of the top five countries are Nordic countries. Computer scientist Craig Nevill-Manning has tracked and ranked the world’s nations by how many medals they’ve won per capita since 1896, and Finland and Sweden are at the top with 17,904 and 19,649 people per medal, respectfully. Denmark is fourth (after Hungary) with 31,176. Norway is just outside the top five with 33,595 people per medal. When ranked by gold medals specifically, Norway ranks fifth, with Finland and Sweden are first and third, respectively.

    “The main reason the Nordic nations have been so successful in the Olympics is the same reason many argue they’re successful in other domains: They’re tiny countries,” Business Insider reporter Chris Weller explains. “One gold medal translates to a much greater medal-per-capita count in Finland (population: 5.4 million) than it does in the US (population: 313 million).

    “To put the domination in perspective: In order to match Finland’s medals per capita, the US would need to have earned an additional 15,000 medals throughout its Olympic history — a mind-boggling, if impossible achievement given that Medals Per Capita totals its current medal count at 2,401.”

    But population aside, Nordic countries have a history of being extremely successful at the Olympics. Business Insider points out that Finland, with just 1.6 percent of the U.S. population, has earned 12.5 percent of the U.S.’s total medal count. “That over-representation is likely a testament to the snowy Northern European countries’ strength in winter sports,” Weller writes. “They do their best in cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and speed skating.”

    At the Rio Games, Denmark is currently 13th in the medals-per-capita count, Sweden is 15th, and Norway is 22nd. Finland has yet to place. Among other skiing nations, Slovenia is first, Kazakhstan is 10th, Slovakia 11th, and Switzerland 12th.

  • FIS on What’s Next Regarding Russia (Updated)

    FIS on What’s Next Regarding Russia (Updated)

    Alexander Legkov after winning the Olympic 50 k in 2014. He didn't have that feeling often in the 2015 season.
    Russia’s Alexander Legkov after winning the Olympic 50 k mass start at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.

    (Note: This article has been updated to include the IBU’s official statement in response to the McLaren report, published in an IBU press release on Friday.)

    What’s a sports federation to do when informed that 13 of its athletes (skiers — not distinguished by discipline, whether it be cross-country, nordic combined, jumping, alpine or freestyle) were involved in the cover-up of positive doping tests between 2011 and 2015? Or even 10 — the amount of Russian biathletes’ samples found to have been “disappeared” by the Moscow anti-doping laboratory during that time period?

    The good news for an international sports federation like the International Ski Federation (FIS) is, they’re dealing with winter sports in summer. That buys them more time to make a plan of action when deciding how to deal with the allegations against Russia and its systematic doping confirmed in the McLaren report earlier this week.

    In response to the 97-page independent report, which made no recommendations for action and left it up to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the International Olympic Committee (IOC), international sports federations (IFs), and relevant authorities moving forward, WADA’s executive board outlined seven recommendations for affected federations. Most prominently, they called for a complete ban on Russian athletes from the upcoming Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

    The IOC Executive Board then came out with a list of “provisional measures” of its own, applicable until further review this December. Among the measures, it asked Professor Richard McLaren to share the names of the Russian athletes implicated in the “disappearing positive methodology” (i.e. the 13 skiers and 10 biathletes) with their respective IFs, and for all 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.”

    So how is FIS moving forward? For starters, they are relieved to have more time to process these findings than, say, a summer Olympic sports federation.

    “As far as the winter sports federations are concerned, I don’t think I need to repeat the fact that the whole situation is utterly, utterly, shocking, appalling,” FIS Secretary General Sarah Lewis, also the secretary general of the Association of International Winter Sports Federations (AIOWF), said on the phone Wednesday. “It is totally against all of the values that we believe sports stand up for and that it’s built on trust, on fair play, on demonstrating personal excellence…”

    Because at least six of the seven winter IFs were mentioned in the report, decisions on how to move forward will be made at a previously scheduled AIOWF meeting in early August at the IOC session in Rio.

    “This will clearly be the main item on the agenda so that we can all address this jointly, commonly, exchange information, exchange positions, and potentially there can even be areas where we can undertake some management matters together as well in order to try to expedite and consolidate the process,” Lewis explained. “That’s what we’ve agreed to do because our season isn’t immediately around the corner and [the] Olympic Games on our doorstep, as is the case for the summer sports. In fact, this time next week, I’ll be on my way to Rio and meeting the IOC already at the end of next week in order to be able to obtain more detailed information.”

    In terms of what information FIS currently has, Lewis explained that it “is in the process of obtaining information about specific names of athletes and/or other persons who may be subject to an anti-doping rule violation.”

    Once information is obtained from WADA to follow up on, FIS will then proceed with results management based on FIS rules and the WADA Code, and will do so on an individual, case-by-case basis, she added.

    “How the process works, if there are any tests connected with the Olympic Winter Games, which of course the investigation was centered around, then it’s the IOC’s responsibility to undertake the results management there,” Lewis said. “But what will be addressed is whether this can be addressed in a joint way with the respective international federation when the IOC has to carry it out anyway. The IOC only has the authority to be able to sanction the person related to their participation at the Olympic Games and then they give then the task to the respective international federation to follow up with any further sanctions and procedures under their jurisdiction.”

    When it comes to freezing events, such as Cross-Country World Cup finals in Tyumen, FIS has eight major events across its sports previously scheduled in Russia. They are now suspended until further notice to comply with what Lewis explained as an immediate measure from the IOC.

    As for seeking alternate venues, Lewis said that’s premature.

    “The decision of the IOC Executive Board hasn’t even been communicated for 24 hours, and I haven’t been dealing specifically with whether there are other organizers who have already offered to step in. That’s in the hands of our cross-country management,” she said. “One thing is freezing the events now and it’s quite another story whether it’s going to be necessary to reassign events. But in any case, don’t worry, there won’t be a shortage of organizers for the [events]. Everyone wants to do the best thing for the sport and be committed to it. And for sure, other nations will be ready to rally around to ensure that the athletes and the World Cup circuits are not affected, should it be necessary.”

    Russian anchor Anton Shipulin celebrates his team's gold medal in the men's relay over Germany's Simon Schempp. Austria was third.
    Russian anchor Anton Shipulin (front) celebrates his team’s gold medal in the men’s biathlon relay at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Germany’s Simon Schempp anchored his team to second and Austria placed third.

    In an email seeking a comment on the McLaren report, International Biathlon Union (IBU) Secretary General Nicole Resch responded on Wednesday, “Due to travelling I did not have the chance to read the full report yet.”

    Resch did not respond to a follow-up email requesting to speak with another IBU spokesperson.

    The IBU released a statement on Friday, noting: “The IBU is truly appalled and deeply saddened by the findings of the McLaren Report (IP Report).

    “The IBU has always emphasized clean sport, fight against doping and protection of clean athletes as its top priorities,” the press release continued. “We will therefore carefully evaluate this report and the recommendations of the IOC and will proceed with investigations concerning references to biathlon included in the IP Report. If and when appropriate, the IBU will not hesitate to open disciplinary proceedings against bodies or persons subject to infringements of the IBU Anti-Doping Rules.”

    Lowell Bailey, a U.S. Biathlon team veteran and IBU Athlete Representative, said he was awaiting an official statement from the IBU as of Wednesday.

    “The McLaren report specifically says that they advise that no international federation should hold international competition in Russia,” Bailey said on the phone. “So in my mind, I think a strong response from the IBU, something that would be a definitive sign that they are very much supporting and fighting for clean competition would be to ban the upcoming Tyumen [World] Cups. I think that’s the least they can do at this point, is to show that, no, we are not complicit, we are not OK with this and as a punishment, we’re moving the World Cup…

    “I think it’s just really unfortunate if we are outwardly saying, as a sport, ‘We hear you, WADA, and we are very much against doping and we are trying to clean up our sport,’ then in the same 12-month period to go and hold a World Cup in that country, which is in violation of the WADA code. I think that’s a double standard,” he added. “So I’m hopeful that the IBU will do the right thing…”

  • Vrabcová-Nývltová Gears Up for Marathon at Rio Olympics

    Vrabcová-Nývltová Gears Up for Marathon at Rio Olympics

    Liz Stephen of the United States skiing with the Czech Republic's Eva Vrabcova-Nyvltova, who had her own standout result in finishing ninth.
    Eva Vrabcová-Nývltová (l) of the Czech Republic racing alongside Liz Stephen (U.S. Ski Team) in the women’s 30 k classic mass start at 2015 World Championships in Falun, Sweden. Vrabcová-Nývltová placed ninth for a career best at World Championships and went on to place 10th in the skiathlon in Falun. Stephen finished 11th in both races.

    Winter Olympians can shine in the summer — just ask Czech cross-country skier Eva Vrabcová-Nývltová, who’s headed to the upcoming Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

    On Sunday, the 30-year-old three-time Winter Olympian placed eighth in the women’s half marathon at 2016 European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam, finishing in 1 hour, 12 minutes and 1 second. She came within a minute of her personal record, which she set in the Prague Half Marathon in April. In May, she ran a 2:30:10 in the Prague Marathon, which qualified her for the Rio Olympics and solidified her plan to step back from skiing for at least a season to focus on running.

    “The overwhelming satisfaction, I sort of wanted to be closer to a personal record, but the experience to run the race with only women is great,” Vrabcová-Nývltová told the Brněnský Deník newspaper on Sunday, according to a loose translation.

    Portugal’s Sara Moreira won the race in 1:10:19, followed by Italy’s Veronica Inglese in second (1:10:35) and Jessica Augusto, also from Portugal, in third (1:10:55). Behind the medalists, Vrabcová held onto the top 10 within a larger chase group.

    Eva Vrabcova Nyvltova is taking a break from skiing and sitting out the 2016/2017 season to focus on running. She qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics at the Prague Marathon in May and plans to race the marathon in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August. (Photo: Czech Ski Association/FIS)
    Eva Vrabcová-Nývltová is taking a break from skiing and sitting out the 2016/2017 season to focus on running. She qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics at the Prague Marathon in May and plans to race the marathon in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August. (Photo: Czech Ski Association/FIS)

    “I think this race definitely met my expectations before Rio,” Vrabcová-Nývltová said.

    She plans to race the marathon on Aug. 21 at the 2016 Olympics, which will be her first Summer Olympics.

    A World Cup cross-country skier since 2005, she has a personal-best Olympic result of fifth in the 30-kilometer freestyle mass start at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

    Reflecting on Sunday’s half marathon, she said her finishing kick needed some fine tuning.

    “My final acceleration [is] a bit lacking. We still have a lot of work ahead,” she said. “We can see where the reserves are, and we have enough time … I evaluate it positively.”

    Vrabcová-Nývltová has not competed in an international ski race since November 2015. In an interview with iSport.cz she said she’s “starting to enjoy life,” which includes her husband, training and most recently, college after being accepted to a university. While she might jump into a ski race or two this winter, she said they’ll likely be based in the Czech Republic as she plans to stay home for the holidays.

    “It’s great challenge and motivation, therefore I decided to focus fully on athletics. I agreed with the Czech Ski Association that I am going to skip next season,” Vrabcová-Nývltová said, according to FIS.

    Asked how the running atmosphere compares to skiing, she told iSport, according to a rough translation, “It can not be compared, because I was so excited. Czech running is a higher level, but the people are fantastic … Holmenkollen and Falun are also super, but mostly cheers northern [countries]. Here the atmosphere in the Czech team [is something] else and I’m very happy that I can be here.”

  • As Sports World Watches for Precedent, IAAF Bars Russia from Olympics

    As Sports World Watches for Precedent, IAAF Bars Russia from Olympics

    Yuliya Stepanov, a former Russian track and field athlete who admitted to using several steroids and then became a whistleblower bringing the Russian doping scandal to light. She was cleared by the IAAF to compete in the 2016 Olympics as a "neutral" athlete after having fled Russia. (Photo: CBS News)
    Yuliya Stepanov, a former Russian track and field athlete who admitted to using several steroids and then became a whistleblower bringing the Russian doping scandal to light. She was cleared by the IAAF to compete in the 2016 Olympics as a “neutral” independent athlete after having fled Russia. (Photo: CBS News)

    The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the global governing body for track and field, has decided to prohibit Russian athletes from competing at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

    Widespread, systematic doping, along with cover-ups, political connections and bribery in Russian track and field were revealed over the course of the last year in a series of news documentaries and then investigations by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

    With the reports of systematic doping now spreading into other sports – for instance, 14 Russian cross-country skiers have been accused of doping at the 2014 Olympics, while a top government official admitted that the entire ski team was doped in 2010 – many in the Olympic sphere are watching the IAAF decision closely to see what options other federations might have for dealing with renegade countries in the future.

    The All-Russia Athletics Federation (ARAF) was initially suspended from international competition last November. The IAAF then had to decide whether to uphold the ban through the Rio Olympics or whether Russia had made enough progress toward Code compliance to be deemed eligible.

    The decision: no.

    “Although good progress has been made, the IAAF Council was unanimous that … Russian athletes could not credibly return to competition without undermining the confidence of their competitors or the public,” IAAF President Lord Sebastian Coe said in a live-streamed press conference on Friday.

    It is the first time since the World Anti-Doping Code came into force in 2004 that a team has been banned from participating in the Olympics. On the IAAF Council, the effort to keep Russia out of Rio was reported to be led by Canada’s Abby Hoffman and France’s Bernard Amsalem.

    The IAAF Task Force, which worked for five months to investigate Russian track and field and was led by Norway’s Rune Andersen, suggested four action points, the first of which was that Russia would not be reinstated.

    The IAAF Council unanimously adopted the recommendations.

    “Under the reinstatement conditions, [ARAF] must show that there is now a culture of zero tolerance towards doping in Russian athletics…,” Andersen said in the press conference, before detailing that he didn’t see those conditions having been met.

    “In particular, the deep-seated culture of tolerance or worse towards doping that got [ARAF] suspended initially appears not to have been changed today,” he said. “Certain coaches and athletes appear willing to ignore the doping rules. A strong and effective anti-doping infrastructure capable of detecting doping still has not appeared … [ARAF] appears unable to enforce doping bans.”

    WADA filed a report on Wednesday showing widespread avoidance of doping controls by Russian athletes. In a three-month period, over 700 tests failed to be administered because athletes could not be located.

    “In order to fix a problem, you have to realize and accept that there is a problem … so I think that is the first step that needs to be taken by Russia, is to acknowledge that there is a problem, from the top level of government and through all levels,” Andersen said.

    In their responses to the decision, key players in Russian sports did not acknowledge a problem, and instead pledged to fight the decision.

    “[Today’s] decision on the ARAF’s suspension was expected and easy to guess,” Russia’s Sport Minister Vitaly Mutko told Russian news agency TASS. “We will come up with a response.”

    How international organizations handle the decision, and Russia’s attempts at appeal, will determine the true precedent of the decision. With allegations of systematic doping by Russian teams popping up in numerous sports (including skiing and biathlon), other federations are likely watching closely to see what leverage they might have over teams if Russia, or other countries, fail to make progress on anti-doping commitments.

    Russia could, and likely will, appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). John Coates, the head of the CAS, has recently said that he found Russian sports to be “rotten to the core”. But since Russia has not yet filed an appeal, it is not yet known who potential arbitrators will be and whether they share his opinion.

    There’s another option for Russia, too: the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

    “We now appeal to the members of the IOC to not only consider the impact that our athletes’ exclusion will have on their dreams and the people of Russia, but also that the Olympics themselves will be diminished by their absence,” the Ministry of Sport said in an announcement.

    The IOC will be having a stakeholder meeting on Tuesday in Lausanne, Switzerland, to discuss the outcome of the IAAF decision.

    “Ahead of the Olympic Games Rio 2016, the Olympic Summit will coordinate and harmonise the approach among the International Federations, which take the first decision on the eligibility of athletes with respect to qualification for and participation in the Olympic Games,” the IOC media office said in an announcement. “The discussion will have to address the difficult decision between collective responsibility and individual justice.”

    Some see this as an attempt by the IOC to keep Russia in the Olympics.

    The IAAF did offer one lifeline to Russian athletes: that if they could prove “clearly and convincingly” that they were clean, for instance because they lived outside of Russia and were tested repeatedly by other authorities (a “credible” testing program, Andersen asserted), then they could compete – but not for Russia.

    Andersen said that this decision was made in part after an outside counsel advised them that legally, their ban on the Russian team would be easier to uphold in court if they made some allowance for proven clean athletes to compete, even if the burden of proof was substantial.

    In addition, the IAAF decided that athletes who had provided substantial assistance in anti-doping investigations could also compete under an independent flag. That opens the door for Yuliya Stepanova, a whistleblower who helped initially bring the Russian doping scandal to light.