Nick Butler @NickJMButler

So we will return to the somewhat farcical Rio 2016-era situation of Russian athletes eligible in some sports but not others...

AW @AthleticsWeekly

21 hours ago

The International Olympic Committee has provisionally lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (July 7). This means that Russian athletes will be allowed to compete at the LA 2028 Olympics, with their three-year ban ended. The IOC will however not hold events in

7 6 20 6K 3

Death, taxes... and Serena Williams complaining about the anti-doping whereabouts system. She is right, it is incredibly intrusive, but also made necessary by athletes deliberately avoiding tests to avoid failing them bbc.com/sport/tennis/a…

Kibiwott Kandie has received a seven-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit after admitting to refusing a sample collection and tampering with the doping control process. The former half-marathon world record-holder ran 57:32 in 2020 and sits No.3 on the world all-time rankings behind Jacob Kiplimo and Yomif Kejelcha. Kandie faced an eight year sanction but cooperated with officials and received a one year reduction. The Kenyan is a three-time Valencia Half Marathon champion in 2020, 2022 and 2023 and Commonwealth Games (10,000m) bronze medallist in 2022.

ARD story: "Brazil is the 'doping champion' of all World Cup participants": 120 doping cases in Brazilian football between 2013 and 2023... sportschau.de/fussball/fifa-…

For example, sprinter Blessing Okagbare claimed not to hear testers after missing a test on June 13, 2021. But leaked WhatsApp messages, seized by FBI on her return from Tokyo Olympics, prove she deliberately missed it due to fear drugs would be detected. /2

We are still awaiting the full explanation for this sanction and an appeal seems likely...but strict rules on missed tests are made necessary by cases of athletes deliberately missing one until a drug is out of their system...often requiring only a few hours. /1

Tom Kershaw @trlkershaw

2 weeks ago

Exclusive: Marketa Vondrousova speaks for the first time about her four-year doping ban for refusing a drugs test. ‘I felt powerless and scared’ thetimes.com/sport/tennis/a…

2 7 15 10K 7

Very interesting article - about payments for Olympians and other IOC reforms which partly tear up the legacy of Kirsty Coventry's Presidential predecessor, and chief campaigner, Thomas Bach

SPORT & POLITICS @JensWeinreich

2 weeks ago

Auf der 146. Session in Lausanne beerdigt das IOC mehrere Kernpunkte der Ära Thomas Bach und kehrt zu einigen Prinzipien zurück, die maßgeblich unter dem Belgier Jacques Rogge entwickelt wurden. Das betrifft auch die deutsche Olympiabewerbung. sportandpolitics.de/der-spate-sieg…

0 2 5 4K 1

So many tweets on my timeline like, ‘this is either the continuation of a grand conspiracy against Alex Schwazer or he’s a psychopath’ as if that is irrefutable evidence that it’s all a conspiracy… The man is a narcissist that will do whatever it takes to win. In 2011, using the fake name Alfred Rainer, Alex starts working with doping Doctor Michele Ferrari. Shortly after he gets his World Champion figure skater girlfriend banned by having her lie about his whereabouts to evade being tested. But eventually he gets caught with EPO because he wasn’t good enough to win without it. He cries and talks about how he is done with sport. Then he comes back in 2016, stronger than ever, dominates the World Cup… but ultimately has that result taken away after a sample from January 1st was found to contain exogenous Testosterone. This time, no admittance of guilt. Instead he went on a defense rooted in sabotage and conspiracy. He made a fake Twitter account to defend himself and belittle his competitors. He claimed he would show up in Rio and race 50km at the same time as the Olympics to show how much better he was than everyone else (this never happened). During his ban he continued to break anti doping rules, unpunished, by offering coaching services, and attending club events (both against WADA rules). But Alex gained a cult following from this claim of conspiracy which led to increased fame, Big Brother, a Netflix documentary… which I’m sure all fed his narcissistic ego supremely well. In 2024, when he returned to competition following his 8 year ban, he was pretty slow and got disqualified in a number of races. His one official result in 2025 was a 43min 10km. Then, out of nowhere, earlier this year he walked a European record 3:01:55 marathon (the race where this positive test comes from). Whatever it takes to be the best. Once again Alex is laying the foundation of a conspiracy by claiming to have their own sealed sample of urine from the same test (completely inadmissible). Despite EPO being present in both his blood and urine samples he is claiming that unless they also perform a test on this mystery 3rd sample with no chain of custody or care then it’s proof of a conspiracy, but one that he is ‘too tired’ to fight. And his cult will eat that up. To them, Alex will always be a martyr and a champion. But to his fellow athletes, we know him for what he really is: a disgrace who would do anything to win. And as a result we are left wondering whether his Beijing Gold was achieved honestly or not.

Nice detail here: In all of sport, the rate of positive tests is only around 0.60% of tests conducted. When FIFA are testing, it is just 0.09%. 36 cases 2013-2023 sportschau.de/fussball/fifa-…

Founding WADA head Dick Pound as outspoken as ever on why no positive tests in men's World Cup since Diego Maradona in 1994. "I have no other explanation than that FIFA doesn't want World Cup to be discredited by doping cases." Latest ARD story... sportschau.de/fussball/fifa-…

Alex Schwazer, Beijing Olympic champion race walker who has spent a decade arguing a previous doping case was flawed and a set up, has tested positive for EPO aged 41 in both (!) urine and blood tests nada.de/service/news/n…

Very good article on the realities of not only FIFA, but international sport generally, especially this part... inews.co.uk/news/fifa-whis…

2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova handed 4-year ban for refusing a doping test. Full written verdict not out but her stress/acute anxiety explanation not accepted. Rare failure for lawyer Howard Jacobs, very successful in previous tennis cases itia.tennis/news/sanctions…

Clause ensuring that future US funding for WADA is dependent on an "independent audit" of all their activities being carried out is now signed into law by Trump. ARD story from yesterday... sportschau.de/investigativ/u…

Whatever the details of this case, and legal difficulties generally, it is problematic for athletics when athletes, like Bracy-Williams and Ruth Chepngetich, get DQ'd for doping but keep high profile wins, records + medals from very shortly beforehand... runningmagazine.ca/the-scene/amer….

"Gatlin responded by sacking Dennis Mitchell, but others have continued to flock towards him despite the fact that he has now been linked to 15 different anti-doping violations, whether by association to an athlete, a coach, or via his own rule-breaking." thetimes.com/sport/article/…

Comment from @playthegame_org head Jens-Sejer Andersen. “There is an obvious contradiction between having a whole dept to support and encourage whistleblowers, on one hand, and on the other starting to chase whistleblowers that WADA regards as challenging to their interests,”

",,,various anti-doping organisations have been asked by WADA...to disclose details that could lead to the identification of possible whistleblowers...despite the security risks that such an action entails for potential whistleblowers in Chinese affairs." sportschau.de/wada-hunts-whi…

Latest ARD Doping Editorial Team story: WADA hunts whistleblowers in China case. On the cryptically named ongoing "Operation Puncture" being prioritised by their investigations team sportschau.de/wada-hunts-whi…

Nice summary of the Ruth Chepngetich decision/investigation. Interesting to see which other athletes she was talking to about "programs". Good work to continue investigating by AIU but the view that only "dopey dopers" are usually caught still stands... letsrun.com/news/2025/10/r…