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Thomas Bach is the first IOC President in history to be a gold medallist, so you would think he, more than any of his predecessors, would recognise the Olympic Games must be drug-free.
Not so.
The 62-year-old former fencer wimped out of banning Russia from Rio, despite mountainous proof of state-controlled doping on a grand scale, leaving the decision to the individual international governing bodies.
As a result, there are 271 Russians in Rio. We await their drug tests with interest.
Sir Philip Craven is a 66-year-old paraplegic who has been president of the International Paralympic Committee since 2001.
He didn’t wilt under pressure, banning Russia from all Paralympic sports in Rio. That’s more like it, and his reasoning should make Bach blush with embarrassment.
“I believe the Russian government has catastrophically failed its Para athletes. Their medals over morals mentality disgusts me,” Craven said.
“The complete corruption of the anti-doping system is contrary to the rules and strikes at the very heart of the spirit of Paralympic sport. It shows a blatant disregard for the health and well-being of athletes and, quite simply, has no place in Paralympic sport.
“Their thirst for glory at all costs has severely damaged the integrity and image of all sport, and has certainly resulted in a devastating outcome for the Russian Paralympic Committee and Para athletes.”
The same courage of conviciton was shown by 20-year-old Australian Mack Horton and 19-year-old American Lilly Kelly, both current gold medallist swimmers in Rio.
Horton touched out China’s superstar Sun Yang in the 400 freestyle, after rightfully accusing Yang of being a dope cheat.
Two years ago, Yang tested positive to banned drug trimetazidine for a heart complaint and was suspended for three months. Russian tennis superstar Maria Sharapova was found to have used banned substance meldonium for a heart complaint and copped two years.
China Swimming kept the Yang positive test under wraps until the ‘suspension’ was over. So was Yang ever really suspended?
China’s social media meltdown saw nearly 50 million accuse Horton of being “arrogant and disrespectful” and call Australia a “third world country in the west”, among many, many other things.
Pull your head in China,
Roarers, make sure you tune in on Sunday morning at breakfast for the Mack Horton-Sun Yang 1500m freestyle head-to-head.
Compulsory television.
Last, but by no means least, King hasn’t missed Russian rival Yulia Efimova, who has twice tested positive, was ruled out of Rio, yet somehow had a request passed to compete.
Worse still, Efimova won a silver medal, finishing half a second behind King.
But King had the last laugh by saying her victory was a win for clean athletes.
Then King launched into a tirade about compatriot drug cheats Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay being allowed to compete at the Games.
Gatlin will take on the ultimate superstar sprinter, Usain Bolt, in each of Bolt’s events in his quest for a historic triple-triple – the 4x100m relay, 200m, and 100m – Gay, only the relay.
But when all said and done, there’s a warm feeling after Sir Philip Craven, Mack Horton, and Lilly King had the courage to publicly prove they are the genuine Olympic Games competitors.