On the eve of the Winter Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (ICO) is knee-deep in one of the biggest doping controversies in the history of sport as a group of Russia athletes fight to take part in the games.
"There’s no capital left in anti-doping, in my opinion," sports science expert Ross Tucker told OTB AM.
After the ICO banned Russian athletes, the Court of Arbitration For Sport ruled that there was "insignificant evidence," and that the bans should be lifted.
The ICO refused to invite these athletes to participate in the Winter Olympics - that decision has been subject to appeal, leaving these competitors in limbo.
“No one knows who’s in control, no one even knows who’s to blame,” Tucker added.
.@Scienceofsport (Ross Tucker) details @paulajradcliffe spat; calls for Olympian to release data and be more transparent
Full interview on this morning's OTB AM: https://t.co/9aGfCfHM6O pic.twitter.com/LRXAlvNFoS
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) February 7, 2018
He believes that serious governing reform is required to fight doping and that there is little appetite for that to happen.
WADA has been criticised throughout this process.
“WADA has been accused of being a public relations body who is put there to make it look like anti-doping is happening,” Tucker told Off The Ball AM, adding that he believes that this appraisal is "harsh," but doping authorities initiating change would be like turkeys voting for Christmas.
“The reality is there’s no will,” he concluded.
