The Executive Committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will vote tomorrow at its session in Lausanne on the proposal of its own special commission to suspend Russia from all sports competitions, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
The WADA commission recommended the suspension for violating the World Anti-Doping Code, i.e. for hiding real and faking tests.
What's at stake
Russia could be suspended from all competitions controlled by WADA - Olympic and Paralympic Games, World Championships; Russian sports officials could be banned from attending competitions; the Russian flag could not be flown at the championships...
Who makes the decision
The executive committee has 12 members, none of whom are from Russia or the USA. At the helm is Craig Reedy, a former badminton player from Great Britain and a long-time sports administrator.
Does WADA have to accept the commission's recommendation?
It doesn't have to, but both WADA and the IOC are often criticized for their soft attitude towards Russia, although since 2008 Russian athletes have been stripped of 30 Olympic medals due to doping.
How would the suspension decision affect the participation of Russian athletes in Tokyo
Russia would not formally participate in the Games. There would be no flag, no anthem would be played, no official of the Russian Olympic Committee would be able to attend the Games, and the presence of state officials would also be prohibited.
Russian athletes could compete, but only those for whom there is clear evidence that they have never had a doping affair. A similar thing happened at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games, when 168 Russian athletes competed under the title "Olympic Athletes of Russia".
Can Russia appeal the suspension decision?
If the Executive Committee votes to suspend, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) can file an appeal within 21 days. In the event that the appeal is not accepted, the case may end up at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, whose decision is binding.
IOC; on the other hand, it must respect the decision of the WADA Executive Committee, because it is in accordance with the Olympic Charter.
Has Russia already been punished for doping?
Several times. Russian male and female athletes were, for example, suspended from the Games in Rio 2016. After the suspension from the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency was re-established, with clear rules that it must fulfill in order for Russia to be fully involved in the sporting life of major competitions. .
Until December of last year, this did not happen, the WADA Commission found, but a large number of samples were hidden, or false samples were planted, which caused a new round of suspicions, and probably new penalties.
Recently, the head of RUSADA, Yuri Ganus, admitted that "Russian athletes are hostages of Russian sports officials", and that "Russian sports operate according to an outdated model".
"When I opened the WADA documents I experienced stress. This is the tragedy of our sport," said Ganus.
How the punishment would affect the performance of Russian athletes in Tokyo
It is not known how many Russian athletes would participate in the Games. In Rio 2016, there were no representatives in athletics, and the Russian delegation consisted of 282 competitors, who brought 56 medals - Russia was the fourth most successful.
Four years earlier, there were 436 in London, and 68 awards were won.
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