Rio 2016 Olympics: Wada and IOC come under fire from man who exposed Russia’s doping operation and Lance Armstrong
The former chief investigator of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has launched a scathing attack on the leadership of the under-fire body on the eve of the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Jack Robertson, who helped bring down Lance Armstrong and worked for the organisation until January, says he leaked details of Russian state-sponsored doping in order to force Wada to investigate further.
The American also lent his voice to criticism of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decision not to impose a blanket ban on Russian competitors at Rio, which officially begins on Friday.
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“The action the IOC took has forever set a bar for how the most outrageous doping and cover up and corruption possible will be treated in the future,” Robertson told ProPublica.
“Those involved in running sport are former athletes, so somehow I figured that they would have honour and integrity. But sport is seriously broken."
He added: "Once it was exposed in the media, then I got some manpower to do the investigation."
His comments came as a hastily-convened three-man IOC panel set up to have the final say on Russian competitors taking part at the Games approved dozens more athletes.
Eighteen shooters, 11 boxers, six sailors and a golfer were all given the green light, but 17 rowers and the country’s weightlifting team were barred from the action.
All of Russia’s track and field athletes are subject to a ban from the International Athletics Federation.