Anti-doping report accuses 1,000 Russian athletes, government of 'institutional conspiracy'

A report found Russian athletes at the 2014 Sochi Games guilty of doping, with the help of the government.

(Image credit: Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

published 9 December 2016

On Friday, World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren released a report he says conclusively proves that Russian athletes and government officials were involved in a massive "institutional conspiracy" to give performance-enhancing drugs to Olympic athletes and cover up that doping. The conspiracy involved the Russian Sports Ministry, the FSB intelligence service, and the Russian anti-doping agency, the Canadian law professor said, with irrefutable proof — including DNA analysis — that athlete samples across 30 sports were swapped on a large scale to avoid detection at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics — including 12 Russian medalists.

The report, which will be passed on to the International Olympic Committee, expands on a preliminary report WADA issued in July. The IOC, which has two commissions looking into doping allegations, declined to issue a blanket ban on Russian athletes for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. The organization will have to decide what to do with Russian athletes in the 2018 Games in light of McLaren's investigation.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.