When officials from the New York City Marathon decided against inviting elite Russian runners to compete in the race last fall, they didn’t explicitly say that the cloud of doping over Russia and its athletes was the reason.
They didn’t have to. It was obvious.
Accusations of Russian doping and reported claims of systematic distribution of performance-enhancing drugs and of bribes paid to cover up positive tests would be enough to scare off officials of any event worried about safeguarding its credibility.
So you have to wonder what officials from the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Olympic Committee are thinking now, in light of the article published Thursday by The Times that detailed a stunningly complex Russian doping scheme at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.