Friday Finds is a regular feature in which I collate and share interesting articles and posts on running/health/fitness which I’ve read recently. Some might be inspiring, some might be scientific, some might provoke debate. All are things I’ve found in some way thought-provoking.
It was the story heralded as a “game-changer” and game-changer it certainly was. I’m talking, of course, about the publication on Monday of the World Anti-Doping Agency report into systematic doping among Russian athletes. The report, which suggested London 2012 was “sabotaged” by athletes with suspicious doping profiles, called for several athletes and coaches to receive lifetime bans and for Russia as a nation to be banned from next year’s Olympics in Rio. With such a big story breaking this week, it would be remiss of me not to cover it in my Friday Finds, but instead of simply recounting the news story, I thought I would gather together some of the opinion/comment pieces I have come across in the past few days which discuss the issues in more depth – even BEFORE the report was published! – for you to dip into. Let’s take a look:
Pre-publication, Sean Ingle wrote in The Guardian with some predictions about how events might unfold and how they might be handled. An interesting piece to look back on in the coming days/weeks/months as various parties act and react.
Post-publication, and a number of articles have already appeared in which various issues are considered: reactions from all corners (including athletes themselves, many of whom are now wondering if they have been denied a medal due to being beaten by athletes who were not clean), key findings from the report and speculation about what should happen next. Here’s a selection, arranged by the date they first appeared:
Monday 9th November
BBC – Doping & Corruption Report a ‘Dark Day’ for Athletics
The Guardian – London 2012 ‘Sabotaged’ by Russia: 10 Key Findings from Doping Report
Telegraph – Russian Doping Wada Report: The 10 Key Points
Independent – Russia Athletics Corruption: Allegations So Serious That Only the Most Drastic Response Can Save the Sport
Runner’s World – Athletes React on Twitter to WADA Report on Russian Doping
Tuesday 10th November
Telegraph – Russian Doping Scandal-What Happens Now?
The Guardian – Russian Athletics’ Doping Crisis Could be the Tip of the Iceberg for World Sport
The Guardian – Why Some are Doubting Sebastian Coe’s Clean-Up Credentials at the IAAF
The Guardian – ‘Where are my Medals?’ The Athletes Demanding Justice After Doping Report
Wednesday 11th November
The Guardian – Jo Pavey: ‘As a Clean Athlete You Wonder How Many Medals You Missed Out on’
The Guardian – Russia is Not Alone: The Net Must Now be Cast Wider to Catch the Doping Cheats
Thursday 12th November
The Guardian – It’s Not Just Russia: Britain Helped Create this Corruption in Sport
BBC – Athletics Doping: Key Questions Answered Following Wada Report
BBC – Athletics Doping: What Happens if Trust Goes Out of Sport?
Friday 13th November
The Guardian – Sebastian Coe Poses a Very British Challenge to Russia’s Widespread Doping
The Telegraph – Athletics Doping Scandal: The Worst is Yet to Come
If you have the time and/or inclination, then you can read the full 335 page WADA report here!
Phew! This story is clearly not over yet and there will be more tough days to come for athletics. But for now, I’ll leave you to digest some of the copious amounts of writing on this topic. Next week, normal service should resume and I promise to bring you a wider range of articles for your reading pleasure!
Happy reading,
The Running Princess
The Running Princess 
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