The New Zealand Olympic Committee supports the IOC as it works towards taking the strongest possible measures against the Russian Olympic Team following the findings of the McLaren report.
The impact of the state-sanctioned doping programme has been far-reaching and the negative impact on clean athletes cannot be understated.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee supports the exploration of legal options with regard to a collective ban of Russian athletes and the sanctioning of individuals mentioned in the report and notes that the upcoming CAS decision on the IAAF wholesale sanctioning of the Russian Athletics Federation will be pivotal.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee also supports other measures being put in place by the IOC in response to the findings of the McLaren Report, including the call for International Federations to assess the findings of the report against their own legal and disciplinary frameworks.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee reiterates that the toughest measures available are necessary to protect the integrity of sport, the values of the Olympic Movement and to ensure clean athletes can compete on a level playing field.
It notes the legal mechanisms available to take action are highly complex and the important issue of collective responsibility vs individual justice must be balanced. It notes the IOC has reconfirmed its reversal of the ‘presumption of innocence’ with regards to Russian athletes doping.
The impact on the Rio Olympic Games is significant and the New Zealand Olympic Committee will now monitor the steps taken by the IOC and International Federations over the coming few days to assess any outcomes on behalf of the New Zealand Olympic Team and take action accordingly.
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