Olympic champion rower Mahe Drysdale says a damning report which exposes Russian doping cover-ups should be the catalyst for standardising testing regimes in every nation.
New Zealand sculling great Drysdale says the release of the independent McLaren Report on Monday confirmed his worst fears.
It found the government-backed Russian sport bureaucracy concealed positive doping tests leading into and during the 2014 Winter Olympics, and across other events and sporting codes.
The findings drew swift global criticism, including from the NZ Olympic Committee.
Drysdale joined Drug Free Sport NZ and the World Anti-Doping Agency in calling for the entire Russian team to be banned from the Rio Olympics.
He is also demanding that all countries employ the same testing regime, with athletes widely suspicious of any nation which doesn't adhere strictly to the WADA code.
"Athletes need to demand this and if a country is non-compliant it might mean athletes having to train elsewhere in an environment with a compliant testing system," Drysdale wrote on his Facebook page.
The five-time world champion is relieved the single sculls field hasn't fielded a competitive Russian during his career but says others haven't been so fortunate.
"I feel for all the athletes that think they have not achieved their dreams due to being beaten by cheats," he said.
"The evidence seems to suggest it is too wide spread to say it's a few bad eggs, It is systematic. I am sure there are some clean athletes from Russia and these athletes should be able to compete under a neutral flag but the onus is on them to prove they are clean and not involved in doping."
Newshub.
