Bloodsport

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Bloodsport Podcast v2

Bloodsport: 5. Poundland

5. Poundland

BBC Radio 4 - Bloodsport, 5. Poundland

We go inside the investigation that unpicked the Russian doping system.

The story of doping at the 2012 and 2014 Olympics by the Russia. Investigators Dick Pound and Gunter Younger how they meticulously stood up the damning claims in the ARD doc.

It is the single most important sports story of our time and it reads like a Cold War thriller. The Evening Standard's sports correspondent Matt Majendie tells the whole story from 2012 till now.

With the bombshell revelations in the ARD doc, the IOC had to act. They commissioned Dick Pound to investigate the claims. We hear how he and Bavarian cyber-cop, Gunter Younger meticulously stood up almost every one. Yet they knew they didn’t have the whole story. Rodchenkov was the key. 

Bloodsport is the story of the systematic doping of the 2012 and 2014 Olympics by the Russian state, its subsequent unmasking and the ongoing fall out amidst the power play of nation against nation. For the first time, you’ll hear the whole story from 2012 to 2020 told by the people who were there. You’ll hear from Paula Radcliffe and Sebastian Coe on London 2012, you’ll meet the expert German investigator who cracked the case wide open and from athletes who doped. We’ve got access to the elite Swiss lab racing to finish testing London 2012 samples and we’ve spoken to the guy who masterminded doping control at the London games.

You’ll also hear first-hand testimony from people who blew the whistle inside Russia (at the risk of their own lives) and from seasoned journalists who watched open-mouthed as the whole thing unfolded. And we’ll take you into the ongoing arms race between doper and tester, to see how the science of testing plays out in the analysis of blood and urine samples.

Despite it being eight years ago, the story isn’t over. There are unfinished corruption trials in French Courts and ongoing allegations of flagrant Russian cheating (even as the Russian government denies all the evidence). Against all this is the soon-to-be pressing question of whether Russia will participate in the now postponed Tokyo Olympics. The credibility of the Olympic movement might hang on the decision. The clock is ticking.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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Sport: Olympics

The story of the systematic doping of the 2012 and 2014 Olympics by the Russian state.

The story of the systematic doping of the 2012 and 2014 Olympics by the Russian state set against the ongoing attempts to catch the cheats.

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Bloodsport

5. Poundland

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