Q: What do you think of the IOC’s stance that athletes who were outside of Russia are good to go?

A: [IOC President Thomas] Bach’s contention is that if an athlete was outside of Russia, then they’re clean because they were being tested. No, no, no, no. They would commonly go to remote training camps outside of Russia, like Lance Armstrong. And they falsified entries in the online reporting system about where they would be. So they’re in a remote area, lying about where they are, taking substances that don’t stay in their system long, and, worst case, even if someone is trying to test them and they miss it, it would have had to happen three times [within 12 months to be sanctioned].

Q: They could beat most tests anyway, right?

A: Russia had figured out how to beat doping tests, but they hadn’t figured how to beat the biological passport. [A system that can detect doping through multiple tests over time, without detecting the actual drug.] That became clear when we heard recorded conversations of the heads of the All-Russia Athletics Federation. They were saying they hadn’t figured out the passport yet. But they figured out other ways to beat it, using the Moscow anti-doping laboratory, but also the Russian Anti-Doping Agency. RUSADA would literally schedule the times to test athletes around their doping cycles. The athletes and coaches would call RUSADA to schedule a time, like setting up a dentist appointment.