Rio 2016: Thomas Bach backs IOC handling of Russian doping crisis
By Mark Ashenden
Last Updated: 31/07/16 6:00pm
Thomas Bach has defended the IOC's handling of the Russian doping crisis ahead of the Rio 2016 Games.
With five days to go before the Games get under way there is still huge uncertainty over which Russian athletes will be able to compete in Rio.
But Bach, speaking at a press conference following the IOC's executive board meeting, denied that the organisation's credibility had been damaged by the situation.
"I don't think this event will be damaging. I trust people will realise the difficult situation we are in. We did our best to address the situation in a way to protect clean athletes."
GB's Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford branded last week's decision by the IOC not to impose a blanket ban on Russia as "spineless" and expressed surprise that more athletes were not speaking out.
The IOC adopted a three-step procedure in the wake of the World Anti-Doping Agency McLaren report, which recommended a blanket Russian ban, after providing evidence of a four-year Russian doping programme across many of the Olympic sports.
The IOC invited International Federations to decide if the Russian athletes in their sports were eligible to compete and set up an independent IOC panel to make a final decision. Finally it ruled that Russian athletes who had previously been banned for anti-doping violations could not compete.
Bach defended that approach and issued a firm denial when asked if he had been politically influenced by the Russian delegation since the publication of the McLaren report.
"No, I haven't been talking to any Russian government officials since the publication of the McLaren report," he added.
"We need to resolve the situation before the Games start and then, afterwards, we will have more time to analyse the situation and study it with a certain distance."
Bach revealed that 4,500 urine tests and 1,000 blood tests would be conducted during the Olympics as part of the IOC's fight against doping.
The IOC revealed over the weekend that a three-member panel would make the "final decision" on which Russian athletes can compete in Rio after examining each case individually.
So far, at least 117 individuals from the 387 that the Russian Olympic Committee wanted to enter have been excluded.
Bach stated the IOC had no responsibility for overseeing the accreditation or supervision of anti-doping laboratories, which falls under WADA's remit.
He added: "The IOC cannot be made responsible neither for the timing nor for the reasons of these incidents we have to face now and which we are addressing and have to address just a couple of days before the Olympics."
Regarding preparations for the Games, Bach said: "It's all coming together. We are looking forward to a great Games here in Rio. There will, as always, be some last-minute challenges. But we have seen that this can be addressed by our hosts."
Bach also said that the Olympic Village for athletes offered "splendid facilities" despite the recent problems that were highlighted by the Australian Olympic Committee.
