Old Habits Die Hard Top Russian athletes, including Olympians and winners of prestigious events like the Chicago marathon, have for years participated in a systematic doping program that involved some of Russia’s sports officials, the World Anti-Doping Agency said on Monday. The agency released a lengthy report here that described a pervasive doping culture among Russia’s sports programs, evoking notorious drug regimes like the state-run doping system of East Germany. The report recommended that Russia be suspended from competition by track and field’s governing body, and one of its authors said it would encourage the International Olympic Committee to bar Russia’s athletic federation from next summer’s Rio Olympics. “It’s worse than we thought,” said Richard W. Pound, a co-author of the report. “It’s residue of the old Soviet Union system.” Lamine Diack, the former I.A.A.F. president, is suspected of accepting payments from Russia to defer doping sanctions. Track and Field Braces for Corruption Report’s Findings NOV. 8, 2015 The report implicated athletes, coaches, trainers, doctors and various Russian institutions, including the country’s anti-doping agency and an accredited laboratory in Moscow that handled testing for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. It detailed payments to conceal doping tests and arrangements by which athletes were made aware of when they would be tested, in violation of code which dictates they be spontaneous, and also the destruction of samples. Reposted from original: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/sports/russian-athletes-part-of-state-sponsored-doping-program-report-finds.html?_r=0