IOC must get tougher on Russia, says former committee member Adam Pengilly

Former International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Adam Pengilly insists that the IOC should take sterner action against Russia. He said the IOC should ban Russia's Olympic Committee instead of simply recommending sanctions.

The former Olympic skeleton racer and IOC member (2010-18) was the only member to vote against an IOC decision on Russia over the country's doping scandals.

Pengilly had called for a blanket ban on Russia during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics over its doping scandal following the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. He voted against the IOC Executive Board's recommendation to leave it up to federations to clear Russian athletes to compete.

Pengilly, also a former board member of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said that the Olympic ruling body needed to take a tougher stance against Russia.

In an interview, Pengilly said:

"The IOC has recommended that international sport federations take a view of suspending Russian athletes and Russian national federations. Yet, the IOC have not suspended the Russian Olympic Committee. So on one hand, they're telling others to do it. But at the same time, they're not doing it themselves."

He further added:

"Some might describe that as hypocritical. At least they've prompted others to do so but I think they should take a leaf out of their own book and do the same with the Russian Olympic Committee."

The 2022 Winter Olympics witnessed its fair share of controversies, the highlight being the doping scandal involving Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva. The 15-year-old tested positive for trimetazidine on December 25, 2021. Trimetazidine is a metabolic agent prescribed for the treatment of angina and vertigo, which also boosts endurance.

Ukrainian bobsledder Lidiia Hunko, Iranian skier Hossein Saveh-Shemshaki and Ukrainian cross-country skier Valentyna Kaminska were the other participants who tested positive for banned substances.

IOC urges international sporting federations to relocate or cancel events planned in Russia, Belarus

Russia has been in the headlines for nearly two weeks following its invasion of Ukraine on February 24 that has led to the killing of thousands of locals and millions being forced to flee their homes.

Earlier, the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had called on international sporting federations to reschedule, relocate, or cancel any sporting events that were slated to take place in Russia and Belarus.

The IOC's executive board recommended that international federations and organizations "not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials" in the competition.