MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Thursday, US media reported, citing then-director of the Russia-based antidoping laboratory Grigory Rodchenkov, that dozens of Russian athletes at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, including at least 15 medal winners and the entire women’s hockey team, had been using doping throughout the Games.
"These accusations <…> must be taken very seriously, because there could be various consequences. But I think there is nothing left to add. If we successfully perform in Rio, it will be necessary to discredit [our] results in Rio. Perhaps another article [alleging Russian athletes use doping] will be released," Mutko told the R-Sport news agency.
Mutko said that an investigation into Rodchenkov’s claims was needed.
During the last few years, Russian athletes were involved in a number of doping-related incidents.
In December 2014, Germany’s ARD television broadcaster released the film titled "The Doping Secret: How Russia Creates Champions" on alleged doping abuse and corruption in Russian sports. Following the release of the film, WADA launched an investigation into the allegations of doping abuse in Russian sports.
In November 2015, WADA presented a report, accusing Russia of numerous breaches of global anti-doping regulations and recommended the country be banned from international athletics competitions, which then led to the All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) suspension from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
