Icarus 2017

Lance Armstrong’s illustrious Tour de France victories, seven in total, were marked by his remarkable clean slate in terms of drug use. Despite being tested an astonishing 500-plus times, no positive results ever emerged. It wasn’t until his teammates’ testimonies turned against him that the truth finally came to light. The anti-doping system, it seemed, was woefully inadequate.

Meanwhile, amateur cyclist Bryan Fogel (Bryan Fogel) embarked on a grueling endeavor, tackling the notoriously challenging Haute Route in 2014. After seven days of relentless cycling, he crossed the finish line an exhausted 14th place, his body battered but his spirit unbroken. The irony was not lost on him - having competed entirely free from performance-enhancing drugs, he had been left in the dust by his peers who likely relied on illicit substances.

Fogel’s curiosity piqued, he teamed up with renowned anti-doping expert Don Catlin (Don Catlin), who proposed creating a customized doping program to equip Fogel with the skills to evade detection and dominate the cycling circuit. The idea was to prove that, if one could succeed in beating the system, anyone could. However, Catlin’s concerns about his own reputation led him to distance himself from Fogel, instead connecting him with Russian scientist Grigory Rodchenkov (Grigory Rodchenkov), the director of Russia’s national anti-doping laboratory.

As Fogel delved deeper into the secretive world of illegal doping in sports, he found himself drawn to Rodchenkov’s expertise. The latter devised a plan for Fogel to ingest performance-enhancing drugs in a manner that would guarantee their undetectability by drug-testing authorities. With the first dose, Fogel’s performance improved by an astonishing 20%. Grigory then instructed him to collect his urine samples at specific points in time and store them in the freezer.

As Fogel continued his training under Rodchenkov’s guidance, the two formed a bond that transcended their initial transactional relationship. It was during this period that Rodchenkov confided in Fogel about Lance Armstrong’s doping protocols. As the months passed, Grigory became increasingly forthcoming, eventually revealing to Fogel that Russia operated a state-sponsored Olympic doping program under his supervision.

Meanwhile, international media outlets (December 9th, 2017) began reporting allegations of such a program, with nearly all Russian athletes suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs and receiving government backing to evade detection. The World Anti-Doping Agency’s president, Craig Reedie, was placed under immense pressure to take action, establishing an independent commission chaired by Richard Pound and featuring Richard McLaren as a member. Despite being under investigation himself, Grigory continued to guide Fogel through their Skype sessions, having been doping for two months at this point.

As May 2015 unfolded, Grigory embarked on a transcontinental journey to the United States, driven by a singular purpose: to retrieve urine samples from Bryan and ensure their safe return to Russia. Little did he know that this odyssey would unravel a complex web of intrigue, revealing a fascinating footnote in the annals of international cooperation. It emerged that Grigory had once traversed the US-Soviet divide, rubbing shoulders with American scientists in the 1980s as part of an unprecedented initiative to harmonize anti-doping procedures. As one of the first batches of Russian athletes and laboratory personnel to participate in this exchange program, Grigory’s own athletic aspirations had been tempered by a realization that he was not national-level material. Instead, he channeled his energies into lab testing and eventually rose through the ranks to become the director of Russia’s anti-doping laboratory, certified by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Meanwhile, Grigory found himself under scrutiny from WADA’s investigative committee, but his confidence remained unshaken. He implored Bryan to continue their doping regimen, warning him when to inject final doses and how to evade detection in European testing centers. As Haute Route loomed on the horizon, just three weeks away, Grigory offered guidance and reassurance to his protégé.

The early stages of Bryan’s training yielded encouraging results – he finished 11th in stage one – but his equipment failed him by stage four, sending his position plummeting to 24th. Eventually, he crossed the finish line in a respectable 27th place. As September 2015 drew to a close, Bryan traveled back to Russia for the second phase of their clandestine operation, cementing an unlikely bond with Grigory.

However, November’s report from WADA’s investigative committee would prove a game-changer. The findings were damning: destroyed samples, cover-ups, and payouts to conceal doping tests in Russian WADA labs. The commission recommended that Grigory be removed from his position, the lab’s WADA recognition be withdrawn, and the Russian sports federation be suspended. Forced to resign, Grigory faced a new reality.

In a candid conversation with Bryan, he expressed concerns about potential danger from Russian state authorities and the sports minister’s demand for his resignation. He revealed that the Russian government had rejected the commission’s report, choosing instead to perpetuate their deception. The very next day, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) voted to suspend Russia’s track and field athletes from the Rio Olympics.

As tensions escalated, Grigory pleaded with Bryan to extricate him from the treacherous landscape of Russian politics. It was then that Bryan realized his former mentor was in grave danger of being “silenced” by the government. With urgency, Bryan orchestrated a daring rescue mission, securing Rodchenkov’s swift passage to Los Angeles for his own protection.

As the architect of Russia’s state-sponsored doping program, Rodchenkov leveraged his expertise to expose the country’s decades-long scheme to corrupt the Olympic Games (he estimates that 30 out of 73 medals in Beijing were tainted, while 50% of the 81 medals in London were compromised). This revelation was triggered by his own tumultuous past, including a stint under the guidance of Portugalov, who sourced anabolic steroids from China, ensuring their purity and undetectability. The Russian athletics team’s subsequent Olympic success was attributed to these substances, with athletes crowned champions after being fed these potent drugs. However, when China agreed to cease producing and exporting anabolics in 2008, following the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) request, Portugalov turned to alternative suppliers, only to find that their products contained impurities, leading to a surge in positive tests.

Grigory, the head of Russia’s testing laboratory, intervened by procuring drugs from a new, pure source, effectively saving the Russian athletics team. His efforts, however, were met with resistance from Portugalov, who had Grigory arrested and later attempted to take his own life, only to be saved by his wife. This ordeal culminated in Grigory’s institutionalization.

In 2012, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) requested Grigory’s presence at the London Games to gain insight into their testing procedures. With no alternative candidate as qualified, Russia reluctantly agreed, knowing that this expertise would help their athletes avoid detection and secure medals. Notably, Putin had the charges against Grigory dropped.

Fast-forward to February 2016, when Grigory’s former college acquaintance, Nikita Kamaev, was found dead in Russia. This event further solidified Grigory’s conviction that Russian Sports Minister Mutko, a self-proclaimed KGB operative, lacked morals and was capable of eliminating anyone who threatened the regime.

In May 2016, Grigory received subpoenas from two FBI agents, demanding his appearance before a grand jury. To avoid imprisonment, he would need to agree to cooperate, but this would preclude him from sharing his story publicly. Grigory chose to defy these conditions, opting instead to share his tale with the New York Times prior to his grand jury appearance. This impulsive decision precipitated the FBI’s cancellation of their deal and subsequent pursuit of Grigory on charges of mass conspiracy.

As Rodchenkov’s (Rodchenkov) camera testimony reveals, during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, he and his team collaborated with the Federal Security Service to tamper with urine samples. This clandestine operation involved opening Bereg kit sample bottles without damaging their caps, a standard procedure that allowed them to swap tainted urine from Russia’s national team with clean samples. The KGB held onto these clean samples, which needed to be replaced for Russian athletes who were instructed to use steroids during events to maximize performance and boost their medal count. With this manipulation, Russia secured an unprecedented 13 gold medals and 33 overall, resulting in a surge in Putin’s popularity. The aftermath of the games saw him launch an attack on Ukraine.

US Department of Justice officials opened a formal investigation into the doping allegations at Sochi, fueled by Rodchenkov’s video evidence. Meanwhile, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) met with Grigory, prompting Russia to discredit his claims. Undeterred, Grigory provided a treasure trove of incriminating evidence, including spreadsheets, discs, emails, and more, compelling WADA and the International Olympic Committee to investigate further.

The tide turned in June 2016 when WADA upheld Rodchenkov’s claims, imposing a blanket ban on Russia’s entire Track and Field team from participating in the Rio Olympics. As WADA’s independent investigation corroborated Rodchenkov’s testimony, US law enforcement placed him in protective custody. His lawyer, Jim Walden, briefly appeared in the film to discuss the life-threatening threats faced by Rodchenkov and the suspicious deaths of two associates.

Russia vehemently denied involvement, claiming Grigory was a rogue operator working alone. However, WADA went further, banning the entire Russian Olympic team from Rio, not just Track and Field. The International Olympic Committee refused to ratify WADA’s decision, allowing Russia to compete in the Rio Olympics.

The film concludes by highlighting that the Russian government continues to deny any involvement in the program, with Rodchenkov remaining under protective custody. In December 2016, McLaren released his final report, revealing that over 1000 Russian athletes were part of this doping scheme. This was supported by the public release of 1666 documents.

As the full Russian team prepared for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and the country geared up to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the truth about Russia’s state-sponsored doping program remained a topic of ongoing debate and controversy.