IOC president Thomas Bach faces media grilling over Olympic drug scandal

IOC PRESIDENT Thomas Bach is under increasing fire as the drug fiasco threatens to take the gloss off Saturday morning’s opening ceremony.

THE Olympic Games has descended into crisis over Russia’s drug cheats with officials clashing and rival athletes urged to make a public protest.

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach was under fire at a lengthy press conference here as the drug fiasco threatened to take the gloss off Saturday morning’s (AEST) opening ceremony of the Rio Games.

The IOC has now appointed a three man committee who will have the final word on whether Russian athletes who are cleared by a three-step process to perform in Rio are allowed to take the starting line.

Some of those decisions are not expected to be taken hours before the opening ceremony.

IOC President Thomas Bach again tries to explain the decision to the media.

Australia has several athletes standing by if extra Russian athletes are withdrawn from the squad at the 11th hour.

Three-quarters of the Russian squad are still likely to compete despite the banning of more than 100 competitors for drug related offences.

The IOC’s inability to post a blanket ban has enraged several former Olympians including retired New Zealand swimmer Moss Burmester who has started a social media campaign asking athletes to stand down from the medal dais in protest against the decision.

“The IOC they are making a mockery of something we commit our lives to achieving,’’ dual-Olympian Burmester said.

“By choosing to #StandDown from the dais to receive medals you say ‘I’m clean and want to compete against clean athletes, but I don’t believe I am.’’

Show the IOC they made a mockery of something we commit our lives to achieving, choose to #StandDown from the dais pic.twitter.com/EJBij3sG0T

— moss burmester (@mossburmester) August 1, 2016

Bach was given a stern grilling by journalists from many different nations at a press conference in which he said it was not the IOC’s fault that Russia was in such a rotten state. He also claimed that the drugs affair would not soil the Games.

“I don’t think that this will be damaging because I think we will realise that we have to take this decision,’’ he said.

“I trust the people realise the difficulties we are in, they realise that this was not an easy decision and they realise we did our best to address this situation in a way that allows to protect our clean athletes all over the world.

“This decision on the IOC board was unanimous. It’s an attack on the Olympic Games and it’s an attack on our values.

“We have to decide what does this system mean for each and event individual and how far can you go to punish an individual for the failures or manipulation of your government.’’