Russian Olympics champion: After Rio 2016, the whole world will live in some new doping realities - INTERVIEW

Moscow. 1 August. REPORT.AZ/ Report News Agency presents an interview with the MP of the Russian State Duma, Olympic Champion Svetlana Zhurova.

- Svetlana, the doping scandal completed, the focus of which was the Russian Olympic team. What are your impressions of the story, and how it can affect the performance of Russian athletes?

- Impressions of the entire history of course, unpleasant.

When we look at the statistics, we see that the Russian athletes were a lot of samples. If we look at the percentage of disqualified athletes, we are in the middle of the list. So, we are not the biggest offenders. The inventive report said that in Sochi samples of the Russian sportsmen have been changed - but it's a terrible information. Then the service of doping control of any country which hosts the Olympics may be in favor of the authorities or for money to change the samples. It's just like a detective story. If we consider that all this is true, then anyone can change the samples as well in the opposite direction: those athletes that did not use the doping may be considered as the sportsmen with positive results on test. A lot of guys are not involved in doping use were behind the Olympics.

Infringement of the Olympics Charter is too clear. I believe, WADA have some abused their powers. If they show a zero tolerance, they must do it also to other countries. And if they decided to selectively punish Russia, as a warning to all the rest, now requirements from WADA will be raised. I think, this story only united the Russian athletes, and they will achieve good results to prove the strength of Russian sport now. Cohesion of the team we have also seen at the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

- Whether such scandals have happened at the time of your performance at the Olympics?

- As I remember, there has never been such tight control by the Anti-Doping Committee. It seems that they just decided to hype. For example, they announced that meldonium was observed in blood of some athletes at the European Games in Baku. But athletes are not to blame for that drug that they took 2 years ago was a vitamin, and now a doping. Why they throw a shadow on reputation of people, who have devoted their lifetime to sport?!

In any case Russia will make appropriate conclusions of it. A relevant commission has been already established. Laws taken in this regard are quite strict now, including criminal liability. After the Olympics, we will have to work with the international federations.

- Do you think the Federation would react to those athletes, who privately asked to admit them to the Olympics? Among them, for example, Yelena Isinbayeva...

- IOC has never been in such a situation, so they tried to make a quite a compromise decision, so nobody can accuse them of bias. Isinbayeva's story is altogether different. The whole world saw her tears in the ceremony to see off the Russian Olympic team at the Kremlin.

And as a person and as an athlete I understand Lena. Especially because she trained abroad and she came to Russia after her baby's born. In this situation. She has considered proper for her to prepare for the Olympics at home. And now there is such a situation, in which she allegedly indirectly involved.

Not only the Russian fans, but also all lovers of sports can protest, because the Olympics really lose because of Isinbayeva's absence. She is a multiple world record holder, set the bar in the sport, and she can lose a significant interest in the high jump for years. Lena sincerely hopes that she still be able to perform at her last Olympics. And we are of course for the remaining time before the Games will worry about her.

- Do you think there will be any new decision on doping samples after such a scandal?

- It is possible that after the Olympics, the whole world will live in some new realities of doping. There will be new rules and new actions. Because 2 years before the World Cup in Russia, such rules may be applied in Russia that the competition even cannot be held here, and it is then precisely will be a matter for talking about double standards.

The WADA, is probably also interested in the review of their work. Because in the scandal, which erupted they are also not primarily interested. Because in addition to the athletes the Games are attended by politicians and journalists. And the agency should do its best so that no one could speculate on this, that no one could raise the question that all of this was done against Russia. 

- You probably know about the history of removal of entire weightlifting team of Azerbaijan from Rio Olympics. Maybe our countries to join forces?

- Of course, Sports federations and Olympic committees of friendly countries need to work together in this direction. As angrier voices will be heard, the faster the Anti-doping Committee will develop and implement the new rules that will not infringe interests of the athletes. After all, WADA at some point framed itself. Many of their statements sound like they didn't control something, at the same time accused the sports policy of Russia and other countries that they have not controlled their athletes. We live in an age of technological progress. Everything just be screened on the camera: the process of sampling, and process of their storage. Then in the operational mode we can view what happens with the samples. We will discuss all of this with WADA and the IOC to make our further proposals.

- What concrete proposals can be made?

- Well, we all know about the list of banned drugs, and someone once published the list of the allowed?! There are such a proposal, in addition to the general list of the Anti-Doping Committee, to make another list for the countries. Thus, a country makes its list of permitted drugs and coordinates it with WADA. In addition, when pharmaceutical companies are developing some super-agents, it is necessary to oblige them to co-ordinate this with the WADA. Then the athlete will know for sure whether he/she has the right to use it or not. In addition, such drugs should be publicly available, if we of course talk about fair play, about fair competition.