Russian Track and Field Athletes Lose Appeal Over Ban From Rio Olympics

Russia's Olga Kaniskina crosses the finish line to win the Women's 20km Race Walk at the World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea, Aug. 31, 2011. AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, file

In this Feb. 5, 2014 file photo Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, visits the Olympic Athletes Village ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics with Olympic Village Mayor Elena Isinbaeva, left, and Russian Minister of Sport, Tourism and Youth policy Vitaly Mutko in Sochi, Russia. On July 18, 2016, WADA investigator Richard McLaren confirmed claims of state-run doping in Russia. Pascal Le Segretain/Pool Photo via AP, file

Between 2012 to 2015, the Disappearing Positive Methodology was used on 643 positive samples, the investigation found. Russian athletes from the vast majority of summer and winter Olympic sports benefited from the system.

Rodchenkov said he created a three-drug cocktail of illegal steroid substances—metenolone, trenbolone, and oxandrolone—that he mixed with liquor and gave to dozens of Russian competitors.

During the 2012 London Olympics many of Russia’s top athletes were using the cocktails, Rodchenkov said. The cocktails were distributed to various sport federations by Irina Rodionova, the deputy director of the Center of Sports Preparation of National Teams of Russia (CSP).

In this March 7, 2009, file photo Russia's Anna Alminova wins the gold medal in the Women's 1500m during the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Turin, Italy. AP Photo/Luca Bruno, file

In addition, the Sochi lab operated a unique sample swapping method to avoid Russian athletes from being caught doping during the Olympics, the investigation found.

The McLaren report says the Russian Ministry of Sport directed, controlled, and oversaw the manipulation of athlete’s analytical results or sample swapping, with the help of the Russian Federal Security Service, CSP, and both Moscow and Sochi labs.