Report: Russian government covered up doping program

Renowned Russian athletes, including Olympians and winners of top sporting events such as the Chicago marathon, have been involved in a state-sponsored doping program for years, the World Anti-Doping Agency revealed in a report released Monday. The report alleges that the Russian government helped get drugs for athletes and covered up positive test results. It recommended that Russia be suspended from competition — including the 2016 Olympics.

Russia had more drug violation citations than any other nation in 2013, with 12 percent of the global infractions; most of those violations were by track and field athletes. The World Anti-Doping Agency's report comes amid several related scandals, including the recent suspension of five Russian athletes and a French criminal inquiry into the former president of track and field's international governing body.

Russia hosted the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014 and the track and field World Championship in Moscow in 2013. The country is set to host the World Cup in 2018, too, although authorities are investigating the possibility that officials secured their bid through secret and illegal negotiations.

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"This level of corruption attacks sport at its core. Bribes and payoffs don't change actual sporting events, but doping takes away fair competition and an equal playing field," said Richard H. McLaren, one of the report's co-authors.