December 28, 2016 (Moscow, Russia) – In a dramatic reversal, Russian authorities are no longer denying widespread doping at the Olympics – notably including the 2014 Sochi Winter Games – reports The New York Times. Anna Antseliovich, acting director general of Russia’s national anti-doping agency, RUSADA, speaks of  “an institutional conspiracy,” but denies that the government’s top officials were not involved. According to the report Vitaly Smirnov, appointed by President Vladimir Putin to reform the country’s anti-doping system, admits that, “we made a lot of mistakes.”

Russia’s doping operations were first revealed in a German TV documentary in late 2014 which led to comprehensive reports by Richard McLaren commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) looking into allegations of widespread, state-sponsored doping in Russia.

Read the New York Times report here.