Russia at the 2014 Winter Paralympics

Russia at the
2014 Winter Paralympics
IPC codeRUS
NPCRussian Paralympic Committee
Websitewww.paralymp.ru (in Russian)
in Sochi
Competitors69 in 5 sports
Flag bearers Valerii Redkozubov (opening)
Mikhalina Lysova (closing)
Medals
Ranked 1st
Gold
30
Silver
28
Bronze
22
Total
80
Winter Paralympics appearances (overview)
Other related appearances
 Soviet Union (1988)
 Unified Team (1992)
 Neutral Paralympic Athletes (2018)

Russia competed as the host nation at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, held between 7–16 March 2014. Russia's tally of 80 medals is the highest total ever recorded. The previous record was held by Austria with 70 medals in 1984.

In December 2014, German public broadcaster ARD aired a documentary which made wide-ranging allegations that Russia organized a state-run doping program which supplied their athletes with performance-enhancing drugs.[1] In November 2015, Russia's track and field team was provisionally suspended by the IAAF.[2]

In May 2016, The New York Times published allegations by the former director of Russia's anti-doping laboratory, Grigory Rodchenkov, that a conspiracy of corrupt anti-doping officials, FSB intelligence agents, and compliant Russian athletes used banned substances to gain an unfair advantage during the Games.[3][4][5][6]

On 9 December 2016, Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren published the second part of his independent report. The investigation found that from 2011 to 2015, more than 1,000 Russian competitors in various sports (including summer, winter, and Paralympic sports) benefited from the cover-up.[7][8][9] Emails indicate that they included five blind powerlifters, who may have been given drugs without their knowledge, and a fifteen-year-old.[10]

  1. ^ Olterman, Philip (3 December 2014). "Russia accused of athletics doping cover-up on German TV". Guardian. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Athletics doping: Russia provisionally suspended by IAAF". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  3. ^ Ruiz, Rebecca R.; Schwirtz, Michael (12 May 2016). "Russian Insider Says State-Run Doping Fueled Olympic Gold". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Ruiz, Rebecca R.; Schwirtz, Michael (13 May 2016). "Mystery in Sochi Doping Case Lies With Tamper-Proof Bottle". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  5. ^ Gibson, Owen (1 June 2016). "New doping report will influence decision on Russia's place at Olympics". The Guardian.
  6. ^ "Russian athletics: IAAF upholds ban before Rio Olympics". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  7. ^ "MCLAREN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION REPORT - PART II". wada-ama.org. 9 December 2016.
  8. ^ Ruiz, Rebecca R. (9 December 2016). "Russia's Doping Program Laid Bare by Extensive Evidence in Report". The New York Times.
  9. ^ Ostlere, Lawrence (9 December 2016). "McLaren report: more than 1,000 Russian athletes involved in doping conspiracy". The Guardian.
  10. ^ Ellingworth, James (13 December 2016). "Emails show how Russian officials covered up mass doping". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 14 December 2016.