S03.E17: 2016 Summer Olympics and Doping in Sports

[Athena]

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Main segment: 2016 Summer Olympics and doping in sports
Segments: Aftermath of the United Kingdom EU membership referendum

 

[trow125]

LWT on Twitter: "There's a new Last Week Tonight tonight, and then we're off for a few weeks. So...let's make this one count, everyone."

[Victor the Crab]

Dang. Ollie withdrawal will be harsh after tonight.

[brgjoe]

Which is why I hope he unloads on this Brexit vote debacle.  My guess is he probably will. 

At least I hope so -- would hate to have to wait several weeks for it.  By then there might not be any UK left.  ;)

[revbfc]

The big miss tonight was the crackpipe joke.  It might have been funnier if the picture actually was a crackpipe and not a meth pipe.

[peeayebee]

I hate when they're off for one week, let alone two. I hope they're working on a big story and not just goofing off. (Yes, I'm a selfish bugger.)

Good segment on Brexit, though I read that Cameron really stuck it to Boris who is now in an unwinable position. 

The doping story was ok. I know it's bad for athletes, esp those who are trying to compete clean, but I'm not too emotionally invested in this issue. 

[attica]

I enjoyed the parade of "Did I do that?" Urkelisms from the athletes once caught.

[theatremouse]

I was intrigued but slightly surprised that as this particular Olympics approaches they went the "nobody's really trying to stop doping" route, rather than the "the buildings aren't done being built in Rio, worse than Sochi, and this thing is supposedly still happening in weeks" route.

[ganesh]

The piece was well-done, but yeah, they're all doping, and no one really cares. I care more about the fact that people are pulling out because of zika and don't want to swim in a poisonous lake for their competitions. Not to mention the massive cost to the city, rampant crime, etc. 

[Primetimer]

PUSH ITTTTTTT!

View the full article

[dcalley]

"Fully jacked foot-long"--eeeww.

This wasn't mentioned in the doping segment, was it? Maybe I just zoned out a bit.

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Six weeks before the Summer Olympics open in Rio de Janeiro, the laboratory that was set to handle drug testing at the Games has been suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency in a new escalation of the doping crisis in international sports.

[atomationage]

Not enough Brexit, way too much Olympics. 

[mjc570]

I agree, way too much Olympics.  Oh, my, imagine - athletes dope themselves to get an edge!  Governments are complicit! The system is corrupt!   Old news, who cares.  On the other hand - "anus merkin" was awesome, and I liked the excuse training.

I wish John would devote ALL his time to Trump and Brexit, at least for the next few weeks after his return.

[Victor the Crab]

ITA with last night's episode. The Brexit story was waaay too short, considering the ramifications of this batshit decision. Not to mention we already know that listening to stupid people (Drumph) is a recipe for disaster. And I would have been happy if they talked about the disastrous cost of hosting the Olympics and/or the corruption behind the IOC that frankly makes FIFA look like a church picnic by comparison. But props for bringing in another TDS alumnus, Matt Walsh, to perform for the show.

Quite underwhelming given we won't see Ollie and the gang for a month. :(

[romantic idiot]

I'd honestly care more about the doping issue if there weren't other things reducing the even level of the playing field, e.g. well funded sports federations, opportunities & the culture to be able to devote to Sports as a career for serious athletes and genetics etc. So I couldn't get too worked up about it. 

[trow125]

I'd like to see a piece questioning some more basic things about the Olympics -- for instance, why not just have them in the same place every year? It's just insane to have to create so much infrastructure for a 2-week event. If you don't doubt that a lot of it is only used for two weeks, there are tons of articles like this one online.

The idea of having someone show up randomly to stand there and watch you pee -- or even worse, being the person who has to WATCH people pee -- is the stuff of nightmares, as far as I'm concerned. I'm very glad I'm not an Olympic athlete!

[ganesh]

I think the idea of rotating cities is that you get to experience different cultures around the world. 

I had to pee in a cup while a cop watched once. 

[cattykit]

4 hours ago, ganesh said:

I think the idea of rotating cities is that you get to experience different cultures around the world. 

How much of the culture do they actually get to experience while they're participating?  And is it worth the billions of dollars invested in the Olympic infrastructure?  Probably there are many more meaningful ways to share culture, and that cost a whole helluva lot less money.

Count me in with those who thought with "Olympics" as the topic that JO would be talking about the toxic waste or the refusal of some participants to be participants because of Zika, and that Olympics and doping have been like tea and crumpets for decades now.

LWT has such an influence that, like many of JS-era TDS, the show itself often becomes a news item.  It's become a real bully pulpit.

[SnideAsides]

It might be because the show has such an impact that they went for the doping side of things rather than everything else that's Rio-specific.

The rotating cities thing started because, basically, Baron de Coubertin really wanted the 1900 Olympics to be in Paris and the original Athens games were a compromise because six years was too long to wait, and then by 1904 it was just expected.

I do think they need to do more to make the games affordable though. But the problem is the two easiest ways of doing it would be to (1) get rid of the sports with big infrastructure needs where the Olympics is an afterthought, which would mean losing the drawcards of tennis, soccer, and probably golf, and (2) extending the games by a few days so you could use more stadiums for multiple sports and have fewer athletes in the village at once. Like you don't need separate stadiums for table tennis and badminton or a temporary 12,000 seat stadium for the handball tournament, you know?

[fastiller]

11 hours ago, ganesh said:

I think the idea of rotating cities is that you get to experience different cultures around the world. 

I had to pee in a cup while a cop watched once. 

 

6 hours ago, cattykit said:

How much of the culture do they actually get to experience while they're participating?  And is it worth the billions of dollars invested in the Olympic infrastructure?  Probably there are many more meaningful ways to share culture, and that cost a whole helluva lot less money.

 

I think that it's more than the athletes experiencing the various cities.  The viewers at home are too.  A better solution, perhaps? More travelogue TV?

I do agree that the cities lose an awful amount of money to host the games.  When our former Mayor Bloomberg/NYC was thinking about bidding to host, I kept praying it would fall through.

[revbfc]

2 minutes ago, fastiller said:

 

I think that it's more than the athletes experiencing the various cities.  The viewers at home are too.  A better solution, perhaps? More travelogue TV?

I do agree that the cities lose an awful amount of money to host the games.  When our former Mayor Bloomberg/NYC was thinking about bidding to host, I kept praying it would fall through.

I had the same feeling of dread when my area was bidding for the Olympics.  DC is congested as it is, and the games would have made it a nightmare for every resident and visitor.  I'd be more amenable to a regional solution.  Instead of just one city, maybe a group of cities within a 200 mile area.  For example: instead of Washington, DC getting the games, DC, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Richmond could host.  Instead of just NYC, add Boston, Philadelphia (again) and maybe Hartford & Providence.  Costs could be spread out and infrastructure wouldn't be as stressed.  I don't think this solution works for every bid scenario, but it could work for the USA.

[withanaich]

I was intrigued but slightly surprised that as this particular Olympics approaches they went the "nobody's really trying to stop doping" route, rather than the "the buildings aren't done being built in Rio, worse than Sochi, and this thing is supposedly still happening in weeks" route.

That's what I thought it was going to be about too. Of course doping is terrible and I felt awful for that one runner who was crying because all her hard work was for nothing, but like peeayebee, I'm not real invested in this one.

[theatremouse]

Part of the appeal of the show, for me at least, is they usually take topics that most folks are either tangentially aware of but not really clear on the details and then fill in those details and point out their absurdity; or things people manage to be almost completely unaware of and bring attention to it in general. That's part of why I was so surprised with this one. I may have a skewed perspective but it seems to me it's fairly common knowledge that, certainly with the Olympics if not perhaps most major sporting bodies, the testing is easy to get around for those who really want to, the "independent" labs are anything but, it's a lot of circular references and widely corrupt. So, while they did fill in some details I may not have been directly aware of, it wasn't even interesting because all of it was pretty much exactly what the reputation implies. Tell me something I don't know (or strongly suspect), you know?

Edited June 28, 2016 by theatremouse

[fastiller]

1 hour ago, revbfc said:

I had the same feeling of dread when my area was bidding for the Olympics.  DC is congested as it is, and the games would have made it a nightmare for every resident and visitor.  I'd be more amenable to a regional solution.  Instead of just one city, maybe a group of cities within a 200 mile area.  For example: instead of Washington, DC getting the games, DC, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Richmond could host.  Instead of just NYC, add Boston, Philadelphia (again) and maybe Hartford & Providence.  Costs could be spread out and infrastructure wouldn't be as stressed.  I don't think this solution works for every bid scenario, but it could work for the USA.

This is how the World Cup is done, and the recent/current Copa American and Euro 2016.  

[revbfc]

35 minutes ago, fastiller said:

This is how the World Cup is done, and the recent/current Copa American and Euro 2016.  

And it works just fine.

[Jersey Guy 87]

1 hour ago, theatremouse said:

Part of the appeal of the show, for me at least, is they usually take topics that most folks are either tangentially aware of but not really clear on the details and then fill in those details and point out their absurdity; or things people manage to be almost completely unaware of and bring attention to it in general. That's part of why I was so surprised with this one. I may have a skewed perspective but it seems to me it's fairly common knowledge that, certainly with the Olympics if not perhaps most major sporting bodies, the testing is easy to get around for those who really want to, the "independent" labs are anything but, it's a lot of circular references and widely corrupt. So, while they did fill in some details I may not have been directly aware of, it wasn't even interesting because all of it was pretty much exactly what the reputation implies. Tell me something I don't know (or strongly suspect), you know?

Yeah, I didn't think there was a lot of new ground covered here.  Want proof that nobody really wants to catch PED users?  Look at the NFL.  Very few players get suspended for PED use yet there's no way you can rationally think that NFL players (particularly offensive and defensive lineman and linebackers) are not using PEDs, and lots of them.  Of course lots of people were willing to believe Lance Armstrong didn't use PEDs either until he finally confessed.

I do think Oliver pointed out part of the problem with PED usage in sports, though - first, the usage will continue to escalate as athletes try to find that extra edge and second younger and younger athletes will start using PEDs in order to be able to make it in their given sport.  And most of them will not but will suffer the negative impact of PEDs.

[atomationage]

Chicago bid for the 2016 Olympics, and Pres Elect Obama went to Copenhagen to help, but it went to Rio instead.   The venue was just south of McCormick Place, and Michael Reese Hospital was supposed to be torn down to make room for it.  The historic hospital was closed, and eventually torn down anyway.   

I hope Oliver does more on Brexit in the future.  I watched an interview with Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland.  The interviewer was apparently named Dermit.  With her accent, it sounded like she was saying Dammit.   Every time they say her name, I think "If wet, Nicola Murray" from the Golding Inquiry episode of The Thick of It.   With Salmond and Sturgeon, Oliver could definitely do something with a fishy theme.   She may be just about the most important person in the UK right now. 

[romantic idiot]

For the Olympics, isn't it also about tourism money for that period? Tough I guess the rich cities don't need it.

[ganesh]

Does any city make money on the Olympics?

[Victor the Crab]

Toronto tried desperately for decades to land a Summer Olympics, believing it would make them "world class" (and because they wanted to one up rival Montreal, who hosted the 1976 Games).

They bided for the 1996 Games but lost them to Atlanta in a curious decision that many believed were bought. Then, they tried desperately for the 2008 Games, spearheaded by the city's elite and by Mel Lastman, the most embarrassing mayor Toronto ever had until Rob Ford showed up. Despite the efforts to silence opposition and to put on a happy false face, Toronto lost to Beijing, which was theirs to lose. The lasting memory of the bid was Lastman's stupid comments suggesting he was afraid to meet the African delegation for fear of being "boiled in a big black pot of water", fucking idiot.

Last year, Toronto considered putting in a bid to host the 2024 Games but decided not to because they came to the realization that the costs and debt of hosting these fames far outweighed any benefits. And it's about time. The Province of Ontario would have been on the hook for any debt incurred which would have taken forever to pay off.

[trow125]

2 hours ago, romantic idiot said:

For the Olympics, isn't it also about tourism money for that period? Tough I guess the rich cities don't need it.

There are some statistics showing that a lot of "ordinary" tourists (i.e. those who aren't interested in attending the Games) will avoid a city when the Olympics are held there because they think there will be excessive crowds, price-gouging, etc. For instance: British tourism slumped during London Olympics
(Granted, a lot of this is anecdotal evidence... I'm sure you could also find articles claiming the Olympics boosted tourism.)

[peeayebee]

3 hours ago, ganesh said:

Does any city make money on the Olympics?

Here's a table that shows costs/losses, etc. I always thought that LA was the only city that had a profit, but there were others according to the table.

[theatremouse]

My (admittedly limited) understanding is that the cities in the best position to theoretically benefit (at least recently) are those who were trying to find a way to finance new sports facilities anyway, that they intended to use for other things that were already lined up. IE back when baseball was an Olympic sport, hell that's a good way to get a new stadium in a hurry because it needs to exist for the games. Etc.

Whereas the cities that tank are those that build all this shit to literally use for two months and then the buildings rot, never to be touched again. And I'm sure some of these cities thought they'd attract more tournaments or whatever of <name your sport they suddenly have a facility for> and then didn't, but I'd also wager many of them knew that was bullshit all along, and they just think it's a prestige thing, or there's graft involved, whatever. I really do liken it to public funding for stadiums, a lot of the folks who emotionally push for one haven't done the math to know if it's a good idea, and wouldn't be swayed even if the math did suggest it was a terrible idea.

[Danny Franks]

I wonder if John was just too depressed at the Brexit result to really go to town on it. I know that I've just felt so, so down since Friday morning, like (and I'm sorry if this sounds dramatic) the world is just that bit greyer and less filled with possibilities. It just feels like such a momentously backward, insular, ignorant step that has been taken.

Never mind that it's become clear that Boris Johnson never wanted to win, and we already knew that Farage was a rampant liar and bigot. The country has been taken down the river by conmen, and we're all going to regret it.

As for the Olympics and drugs testing, it's never going to go away. It just isn't. Like John himself said, there is too much money to be made from winning for everyone to avoid trying to swing the odds in their favour. And when countries start viewing it as a badge of national prestige to do well at the Olympics, you get heavy state sponsored doping. the USSR and East Germany doped their athletes up to their eyeballs in the 70s and 80s, so it's little surprise that Russia continues to do it today. But, again as John said, plenty of non-Russians do it too. The Mens 100m has been hit by so many high profile drugs cheats, in recent years: Tim Montgomery, Asafa Powell, Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay, Dwain Chambers. It's one of the reasons Usain Bolt became such a transcendent star, people were desperate for a hero who was 'clean'.

But I will still watch the Olympics, and enjoy it all, because it is one of the world's greatest sporting spectacles.

[SnideAsides]

On 27/6/2016 at 6:52 AM, Victor the Crab said:

Dang. Ollie withdrawal will be harsh after tonight.

Especially this week. I need Ollie to go all-in on Australia's clusterfuck of an election, but hopefully it'll still be enough of a mess to be newsworthy when the show returns.

[OneWhoLurks]

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After a subpar showing at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Russians devised an elaborate, clandestine plan to ensure a stellar performance at the 2014 games they were hosting in Sochi.

Here's how it worked: In the dead of night, Russian officials exchanged the tainted urine from their athletes who had been doping with clean samples by passing them through a "mouse hole" drilled into the wall of the anti-doping lab. When the urine was tested the next day, there were no signs of doping, according to a detailed new report.

 

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The Russian actions have been so egregious, and the doping so pervasive, that the anti-doping agency recommended the unprecedented step of banning the entire Russian team from the Summer Olympics next month in Brazil.

The International Olympic Committee, which has already barred the Russian track and field team, held an emergency meeting Tuesday to consider the recommendation. The IOC said it would "explore legal options" but put off a final decision, though the games start in less than three weeks.

 

Report: Russia Used 'Mouse Hole' To Swap Urine Samples Of Olympic Athletes
 

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An appeals court on Thursday upheld the ban on Russia’s track and field team from the Rio Olympics, empowering sports organizations to discipline other Russian teams after revelations of a government-run doping scheme.

Track and field’s global governing body, known as the I.A.A.F., had barred Russia’s team from competing in Rio de Janeiro because of an elaborate cheating plot, which investigators confirmed with forensic evidence and computer records this week. The Court of Arbitration for Sport, the final arbiter on global sports disputes, to which Russia had appealed, said Thursday morning that the organization’s sanction was legally sound.

 

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In instituting its ban, the I.A.A.F. invited Russian athletes living outside the country who had regularly tested for drugs to petition to compete on an individual basis; officials said they had offered such an option in part to protect against court challenges.

So far, two Russian track and field athletes have been cleared to compete in Rio: Darya Klishina, a long jumper who is based in the United States, and Yuliya Stepanova, a middle-distance runner also living in the United States.

The track governing body said the exempted athletes would not compete under the Russian flag at the Rio Games but rather as neutral athletes. Russia won 18 medals in track and field, including eight golds, at the last Summer Olympics, in London. Whether the country’s medal aspirations in other sports in Rio are squashed, too, could soon be determined by other sports federations.

 

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Yuri Nagornykh, Russia’s deputy minister of sports, who was identified by investigators as a main executor of the scheme, is also an executive board member of the Russian Olympic organization. On Monday, the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, said he had provisionally suspended Mr. Nagornykh and other implicated officials.

Sports Court Upholds Ban on Russian Track and Field Athletes

Edited July 21, 2016 by OneWhoLurks

[OneWhoLurks]

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There have been 108 Russians banned from next month's Olympics so far, including 67 out of 68 from the athletics team.

Putin said there was a "deliberate campaign targeting our athletes".

"The other sportsmen understand that the quality of their medals will be different," he told the Russian Olympic team at the Kremlin in Moscow.

 

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Russia had hoped to send 387 athletes to Rio. On Wednesday, the country's Olympic Committee chief Alexander Zhukov told Rossiya-24 that, despite the suspensions, more than 250 are still set to go.

Rio 2016: Vladimir Putin says Olympics 'less of a spectacle' without Russians

[TudorQueen]

That depends on how you're using 'spectacle.'

[OneWhoLurks]

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"The anti-doping system in Russia is broken, corrupted and entirely compromised," said IPC president Sir Philip Craven at a news conference on Sunday.

"The Russian Paralympic Committee are unable to ensure compliance with and enforcement of the IPC anti-doping code and the world anti-doping code within their own national jurisdiction and they can not fulfil its fundamental obligation as an IPC member.

"As a result, the Russian Paralympic Committee is suspended with immediate effect."

 

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Canadian law professor Richard McLaren's report found that Russia's sports ministry manipulated urine samples provided by its athletes between 2011 and 2015.

The report identified 27 samples relating to eight Para-sports, five of which are summer sports, including some governed by the IPC.

The IPC has also found evidence that samples were swapped during the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games and it planned to reanalyse every Russian sample from Sochi.

 

Rio Paralympics 2016: Russian athletes banned after doping scandal

[OneWhoLurks]

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Of the approximately 11,000 athletes competing in Rio, at least 120 have served suspensions or had to return medals for doping and were reinstated in time for this year’s Games. This is about one out of every 100 competitors.

At Least 120 Athletes at the Rio Olympics Have Previously Been Suspended for Doping