PyeongChang’s Olympic flame will be ignited underneath the cloud of the Russian doping scandal. Just because the International Olympic Committee has banned Russia, the doping debate is far from over.
Roger Pielke Jr., director of the University of Colorado-Boulder Department of Athletics Sports Governance Center, thinks the messy and lengthy investigation process starts with flaws in doping regulation — internationally administered by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
As a professor at the University of Colorado, Pielke studies the role of science and technology in decision-making. Although WADA achieved global success in harmonizing the work of 600 agencies that participate in the Olympics, he says WADA’s rulings, like which substances should be banned, aren’t sufficiently rooted in evidence.