Russian sports: Getting serious
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that a state doping control system should be established for Russian sports and tougher penalties may be introduced for those who break the rules.
"Every provision should be made and a state [doping] control mechanism established, and we should act vigorously. If necessary, let's also discuss moves to toughen penalties," Putin said at a meeting of the presidential council on sports development and arrangements for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Two weeks ago three Russian biathlon racers tested positive for the Russian version of the banned substance Erythropoietin (EPO) at the Biathlon World Championship in South Korea's Pyeongchang. The athletes were all disqualified and forced to leave the country.
Russia has always been serious about her sports and the credibility attributed to her sportspeople. Doping is an international phenomenon which premeates throughout the world of sport and practically all its modalities.
In today's world, it is not a case of what you take, but rather how you avoid being caught. While in the old days a dose of glucose was administered before a race, today doping is far more scientifically advanced and therefore more difficult to detect.
However this does not make it correct and Vladimir Putin's stance is one of openness and transparency, two vectors which have long underpinned Moscow's modus operandi
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