Former International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes’ Commission chairperson Claudia Bokel has claimed she was bullied after she supported calls for Russia to be banned from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro following the revelations regarding the country’s doping scheme.
The German, head of the IOC Athletes’ Commission from 2012 until the end of her term at Rio 2016, also alleged that Beckie Scott, chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Athlete’ Committee, was bullied by an “IOC member who was later arrested” in the Brazilian city.
Irishman Patrick Hickey, a former IOC Executive Board member, was detained during Rio 2016 in connection with an alleged ticketing scam.
Speaking at the Anti-Doping in Sports Conference in Oslo, Bokel, an Olympic silver medallist in fencing, detailed how she and Canadian Scott were allegedly treated by the IOC during the build-up to Rio 2016.
She claimed they were subjected to bullying after leading calls for Russia to be banned in response to evidence of state-sponsored doping in Russia in the WADA-commissioned Pound and McLaren investigations.
The IOC decided against a blanket ban and instead allowed all Russian athletes to participate so long as they had fulfilled eligibility criteria defined by their respective International Federation.
Bokel, a member of the three-person panel which determined the fate of Russian competitors, said the IOC showed her letters from competitors representing other Athletes’ Commissions and who disagreed with the call for a complete Russian ban.
She claimed however, these were written by some of the candidates standing for a place on the IOC Athletes’ Commission.
