This Saturday will witness the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The event brings together billions of sports fans watching around the world, who will follow the 10,000 athletes competing in over 300 events across 28 different sports. There is truly nothing else like the Olympics.
Folkestone will be represented by Jack Green who will be competing in the 400m hurdles, hoping to make it to the Olympic final after reaching the semi-final at the London games four years ago. Jack went to school at Saltwood Primary and Brockhill Park schools, and his story since 2012 is one of an amazing comeback from injury and loss of form, to be the leading British competitor in this event. His determination and never say die commitment is an inspiration for all aspiring Olympians. We wish him well at Rio, but whether or not he makes the podium, and we are all hoping that he does, he is already a winner. The other Kent Olympians who will be fighting it out for the medals in Rio include the sprinter, Adam Gemili, gymnast Kat Driscoll and the Ashford born rower Tom Ransley.
At the London Olympics in 2012, Lisa Dobriskey from New Romney reached the final of women’s 1500 metres. On the day she finished in tenth place, but that has now effectively become a fourth, as six of the nine runners who were placed ahead of her have subsequently be disqualified for doping offences. This race has been referred to by many athletics commentators as the dirtiest in history. The International Olympic Committee (IOC), as the guardians of the values and conduct of the Olympic games have a duty to ensure that competition is fair and that cheats are identified and excluded from events. Where a competing nation has been shown to be in systematic breach of the rules regarding doping offences in particular, the IOC has to be prepared to step in and take action. Last month the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) reported that the Russian government has been involved in the state sponsored manipulation of athletes doping results in order to protect cheats in their own teams. What’s worse, they had also done this in a pre-meditated way during the Winter Olympics they hosted at Sochi in 2014.
In light of this independent report the IOC should have banned all Russian athletes from competing at Rio. Such is the low standing of the anti-doping testing regime in Russia, it is not possible to have confidence in them. Russia is not the only country to have a problem with doping in sport, but where there is evidence not only of large scale abuse, but the complicity of the government of the country in it, there has to be a greater sanction against cheating teams.
The IOC has failed in this regard to take the necessary action. I hope it will take a tougher stance against any team found to be cheating at Rio.