Australian gold medal-winning walker Jared Tallent tees off on IOC for failure to ban Russia from Olympic Games

AUSTRALIAN Olympic gold medallist Jared Tallent says he has lost faith in the Olympic movement following the IOC’s decision not to apply a blanket ban on Russian athletes in Rio.

Australian Jared Tallent says the IOC has it’s ‘head in the sand’ over Russian doping.

AUSTRALIAN Olympic gold medallist Jared Tallent says he has lost faith in the Olympic movement following the IOC’s decision not to apply a blanket ban on Russian athletes in Rio.

Speaking from his training base in St Moritz, Switzerland, on Monday, Tallent said he was not looking forward to this year’s Games like Beijing or London because he feels the IOC has failed clean athletes in every sport.

He has slammed the governing body for not following the IAAF’s hard line stance in banning the entire Russian track and field team from the Rio Olympics, in the wake of a damning report which revealed state sponsored doping.

Jared Tallent after being awarded his gold medal last month for the 50km walk from the 2012 Olympic Games following the disqualification of Russian walker Sergey Kirdyapkin for doping.

The IOC has however banned any Russian athlete who has a history of doping – even if they have served their suspension – from competing in Rio but Tallent said that should apply to every country.

“I think the IOC have their head in the sand,” Tallent told News Corp.

“The McLaren Report showed state sponsored doping, which is probably the biggest ever doping scandal in world sport and is just as bad as the East German doping program, (and it) has affected two Olympic Games in London and the winter Games in Sochi.

“They haven’t taken that hard line and made a stand for clean sport and stuck up for clean athletes and drawn a line in the sand like what the IAAF have done.

“It’s incredibly disappointing when there is such clear evidence, they had a huge golden opportunity to make a big stand and say ‘this is not on’ and to really stick up for clean athletes.”

It will also be up to individual sporting federations to determine which Russian athletes will be allowed to compete in the first Olympics held in South America but Tallent does not believe that will be effective.

“By passing it off to the federations there are conflicts of interest, there is not enough time and resources to make the right decisions,” he said.

Last month Tallent was finally awarded his gold medal from the 50km walk at the 2012 London Olympics – four years after Russian winner Sergey Kirdyapkin was stripped of it for doping.

As he prepares to defend his title in Rio, Tallent – who is also the captain of Australia’s athletics team – revealed he wasn’t excited about this year’s Games which are just 10 days away.

“I would say it’s (doping investigation and Russian scandal) been a distraction, I’m not looking forward to these Olympics like I have in the past,” he said.

“You have strong belief the IOC will do the right thing and protect clean athletes at the Olympics and when they don’t do that you lose faith in the Olympic movement.

“From what’s happened to me, I had to wait four years to get my gold medal and I don’t want to see that happen to other athletes.”

Tallent says the ban on any athlete who has been caught doping should be worldwide at the Olympics.

“They should be doing that for every country, you can’t just say (American) Tyson Gay in athletics can compete,” Tallent said.

“If an Italian in my event, Alex Schwazer, gets off at his next hearing he will be allowed to compete (in Rio).

Jared Tallent puts on his Rio Olympics jacket after being awarded his gold medal last month for the 50km walk from the 2012 Olympic Games following the disqualification of Russian walker Sergey Kirdyapkin for doping

“How do you explain that one?”

Asked whether he felt a blanket-ban on Russian athletes in Rio would have unfairly penalised clean athletes, Tallent said it was impossible to know.

“You don’t know who is clean, there is no guarantee there are any clean athletes, there has been widespread corruption and cover ups, hundreds of positive tests, there is no guarantee,” he said.

The 31-year-old is set to join his Australian teammates in Florida for their pre-Olympic training camp this week before arriving in Rio on August 8.

Tallent, a three-time Olympian, will be joined by his sister Rachel who is also a racewalker, at the Games.

“I’m going all right, I’ve been through a big training block and it’s my last big week before I start to taper,” he said.

Originally published as Australian gold medal-winning walker Jared Tallent tees off on IOC for failure to ban Russia from Olympic Games