Canadian cross-country skier Devon Kershaw was floored by the International Olympic CommitteeB次元官网网址檚 crackdown on Russia because he had zero faith anything would happen.
The IOC punished Russia on Tuesday for the widespread evidence of state-sponsored doping at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, banning the country from competing in FebruaryB次元官网网址檚 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Athletes from Russia who prove theyB次元官网网址檙e clean can participate as B次元官网网址渘eutralsB次元官网网址� without the Russian flag and anthem, the IOC said.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 flabbergasted that the IOC did anything,B次元官网网址� Kershaw told The Canadian Press from Norway. B次元官网网址淚 mean, look at their track record.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檇 pretty much lost all faith in the IOC.B次元官网网址�
The three-time Olympian had led the charge for CanadaB次元官网网址檚 first Olympic medal in menB次元官网网址檚 cross-country skiing for over a decade, finishing fourth in team sprint with teammate Alex Harvey at the 2010 Vancouver Games. A Russian duo won gold that year.
B次元官网网址淭hose moments that were robbed, you donB次元官网网址檛 get them back and it doesnB次元官网网址檛 feel good to sit here and talk to you and think about were they doing something like that in Vancouver, when I was fourth? Probably,B次元官网网址� the 34-year-old from Sudbury, Ont., said.
B次元官网网址淭hat stinks because that was the prime of my career. Before my facial hair was grey.B次元官网网址�
How the IOCB次元官网网址檚 punishment of Russia will impact CanadaB次元官网网址檚 medal count in Pyeongchang is unclear because of the myriad of ways this could play out.
Russian president Vladimir Putin might not allow any athletes to compete as neutrals, which equates to a boycott.
Who will be allowed to compete as a neutral has yet to be determined. Athletes already banned can still appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
No official from RussiaB次元官网网址檚 ministry of sport will get accreditation for Pyeongchang and no coach or doctor found to have committed an anti-doping violation can be invited, according to the sanctions released Tuesday.
Kershaw believes RussiaB次元官网网址檚 sport leaders should bear responsibility for what happened in Sochi and the subsequent fallout.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 easy in Canada to point fingers and say B次元官网网址榯he athletes should know betterB次元官网网址� but travel to Russia and see the living conditions these kids are growing up in,B次元官网网址� Kershaw explained.
B次元官网网址淭hey make the national team B次元官网网址� and then they come into this incredibly corrupt system with a bunch of coaches that have been there since, I donB次元官网网址檛 know, World War II?
B次元官网网址淭hey have so much power over the athletes compared to the western culture. If you speak up, youB次元官网网址檙e on the next bus to Siberia.B次元官网网址�
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But Calgary curler Chelsea Carey was less forgiving. She wasnB次元官网网址檛 completely comfortable allowing Russian athletes to compete as neutrals.
B次元官网网址淗ow am I supposed to be convinced that theyB次元官网网址檙e clean when every day there is a new scandal about a Russian athlete from Sochi who wasnB次元官网网址檛 clean?B次元官网网址� Carey asked at the Olympic trials in Ottawa.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 tough as an athlete when you are following the rules and are doing what youB次元官网网址檙e supposed to do.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 glad that there is a sanction. They certainly needed to be punished for what they did. I think that the athletes have some liability there that theyB次元官网网址檙e not necessarily being held to, which is too bad.B次元官网网址�
Former Canadian cross-country skier Beckie Scott has been an anti-doping advocate since her bronze medal in 2002 was upgraded to silver and then gold because athletes ahead of her were disqualified for doping.
The chairman of the World Anti-Doping AgencyB次元官网网址檚 athletes committee says the IOC struck a balance between punishing those responsible and protecting clean athletes.
B次元官网网址淚t was the furthest they could go in terms of levelling a sanction and consequences for what became known about Russia and their doping system,B次元官网网址� Scott said.
B次元官网网址淭he system is being punished B次元官网网址� the conspiracy is being addressed and sanctioned and if there are clean athletes who can prove theyB次元官网网址檙e clean, they still have a chance to compete.B次元官网网址�
Six-time Olympic hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser, who was elected to the IOC athletesB次元官网网址� commission in 2014, aligns with Kershaw in placing the blame RussiaB次元官网网址檚 sport leaders and not the athletes.
B次元官网网址淭here are no winners in todayB次元官网网址檚 decision,B次元官网网址� she said in a statement. B次元官网网址淚t is not lost on many clean athletes that Russian athletes who were part of this system may have had no choice but to comply.
B次元官网网址淚t is also commendable and important to see harsher sanctions towards officials and entourage. The evidence overwhelmingly shows the power and influence these people took to control athletes and their outcomes.B次元官网网址�
The Canadian Olympic Committee told the IOC in October to impose B次元官网网址渋mmediate and meaningful sanctionsB次元官网网址� on Russia ahead of the 2018 Winter Games.
B次元官网网址淭he Canadian team will have the confidence that theyB次元官网网址檙e competing on a level playing field,B次元官网网址� COC president Tricia Smith said Tuesday.
B次元官网网址淭his decision is critical in terms of the sanctions it took not just against the athletes, but to those who were responsible and in charge, morally and contractually.B次元官网网址�
The Canadian government supported the IOCB次元官网网址檚 punitive measures against Russia.
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B次元官网网址淲e support the International Olympic CommitteeB次元官网网址檚 decision to ban Russia from participating in the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, ensuring a clean competition,B次元官网网址� Canadian Sport Minister Kent Hehr said in a statement.
B次元官网网址淚 am confident that the IOC, the respective international sport federations and the World Anti-Doping Agency will collaborate with the Russian authorities to apply the appropriate corrective measures.B次元官网网址�
- Canadian Press reporter Greg Strong contributed to this story.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
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