The German Paralympic team is winning one medal after another in Rio de Janeiro. Of course, Dr. Hahn is pleased when German athletes perform successfully. "But the discussions about doping, protracted for months, have cast a shadow on the Games," he said.
"It's wrong when the world's best athletes cannot participate, because the whole nation is not allowed to," the politician told Sputnik. "It is a distortion of the spirit of the competition."
Dr. Hahn was extremely surprised when Russia was disqualified by the IPC. "Athletes with disabilities are being punished for others' transgressions — I think it's wrong!" he claimed, arguing that an offender should be dismissed, but not the entire country.
In his opinion, the move was clearly politically motivated:
"I remember well, when German and American cyclists (among them the winners of stages and the whole tour) were discharged in large numbers during the Tour de France, because they were all taking dope. Nobody asked for all the German and the American cyclists to be banned from participating in the world championships, or that the countries' teams be removed from the Olympic Games," Dr. Hahn said.
"All this has no place in sport," the expert concluded.
