German TV documentary alleges that 99 percent of Russian Olympic athletes are doping

In the documentary Stepanova says she was frequently encouraged by her coaches to keep “clean” urine samples in a freezer for tests during training. At the Russian athletics championships she was instructed to text the number of her urine sample to an official, after which she would be able to “sleep in peace”. One covert recording shows her coach handing her pills said to be Oxandrolone, an anabolic steroid banned by the International Olympic Committee.

“The coaches chose a girl, fed her pills and then she’d be off,” Stepanova said. “And the next day she’d be banned and then they’d say: ‘We’ll find a new one.’”

Her husband said the Russian anti-doping agency regularly received calls from the ministry, asking to reveal the identity of athletes who had tested positive. “If it was an unknown athlete, the test remained positive,” he said, “but when it is someone famous, or someone young and a medal hopeful, then it’s a mistake, and it’s not reported.” Other disciplines, such as swimming, skiing or weightlifting, were not tested in the first place.

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