Pat Hickey defends IOC’s call on Russia

From opposite sides of the world — and opposing ends of the power spectrum — two voices struck a very different chord yesterday on the International Olympic Committee’s decision not to issue a blanket ban on Russia ahead of next month’s Olympic Games.

First there was Pat Hickey, Olympic Council of Ireland president, who along with announcing he would step down from that position after Rio, stood ardently behind the IOC’s decision not to impose a blanket ban on Russia.

Then there was Vitaly Stepanov, the Russian whisteblower who helped expose the systematic doping regime, who in response to the decision said the IOC “had no interest in clean sport”.